To Live With Yourself
by FlyWithDamagedWings
Summary: **AU** After a shaky past, for his senior year Axel chose to transfer schools. He had high hopes of starting fresh with help from his old friends Demyx and Zexion. Better yet, with help from his new friend, Roxas, he's able to feel like a brand new person. Until the past catches up with him, that is. That's when things fall apart all over again. - Cover Image by azmin on deviantArt
1. Prologue: Eyes

The words, the speech, the story; it all echoed in his head with no escape. This was really happening. Everything that had been going so well was now ruined. It had been ripped to shreds just as it was getting better.

Obviously.

The redhead was sitting in the bleachers, surrounded by some of his new friends and being stared at by hundreds of pairs of eyes. Most he didn't even know. And all of the expressions facing him were expressions of either pure shock or fear. The eyes weren't just staring at him; they were gawking at him. He refused to look back, though. Until his forest green eyes made contact with a pair of ocean blue eyes right beside him. And in those blue eyes he saw confusion mixed with the willingness to know the real truth. And it was then that the redhead decided it was time to stand up to the blue haired teen.

"Bullshit!" he screamed, jumping to his feet.

Those blue eyes had showed him that things could still be better. And he refused to let things be ruined. Not again. He was not going to be taken down.


	2. Chapter One: Good Morning

An annoying sound was going off in his ear. It started quiet, but gradually grew louder and louder. Then the sound began to form words. "Wake up!" the male voice said. "C'mon, you don't wanna be late for your first day of school! Especially at a new school!" the voice continued. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

The chilling voice stopped abruptly. And then his covers were thrown off of him and he was yanked out of the bed by his ankles. He landed with a hard _thud!_ on the carpeted floor.

"What the hell, Demyx?" he complained, his eyes still closed as he just lay on the floor.

"Axel, it's time to get your ass up," Demyx Nathanson said again. "We need to leave for school in half an hour."

He sat up with a groan. "Okay, okay, I'm up."

"Well, I'm not leaving until you get on your feet and start changing."

He sighed. "Fine."

Axel Rizure stood up. He shook his red hair out of his face and focused his groggy green eyes. The sandy blonde in front of him was already dressed and ready to for the day ahead of them. His light green eyes were vibrant and full of energy.

"How can you be so awake right now?" he questioned his lifelong friend as he pulled his shirt off over his head.

Demyx only shrugged. "I'm a morning person."

"Yeah, well, I'm not."

"Yes, we're well aware of that," Zexion Grey said, joining the two. His indigo hair was styled in a way that it fell over half of his face, covering one of his blue-grey eyes. "That's why we waited this long to wake you up; we wanted to give you as much rest as you could possibly get."

"Even though you practically slept all summer," Demyx pointed out in addition.

"I did not sleep all summer," Axel denied, now rummaging through his bureau for clothes to wear.

"Are you kidding me?" he replied. "From the moment you moved in here you've been sleeping off and on."

"Yeah, 'off and on' being the keywords."

"Ax, you haven't even met our friends yet and they were over at least every other day."

"Okay, let's not fight about this, you two," Zexion cut in. "C'mon Dem, we need to let Axel get ready." He left.

Demyx started to leave, but stopped in the doorway. He leaned against the frame, his hands in his pockets. "Are you nervous?"

Axel laughed at this. "Please, I've been through too much shit to get nervous about anything as trivial as the first day at a new school."

"You need to take this seriously, Ax."

"You think I don't know that?" He sighed again. "Just let this year happen, Dem. It's my last year; I'll survive."

"I guess, especially with mine and Zexion's friends. They all behave and actually go to class and do their work. They'll be good influences on you."

"Just what I need."

"This isn't something to joke about, Axel. It is what you need."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Demyx?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not amused."

"Why not? Joking relieves pressure and lifts weight off the shoulders. It makes bad things better."

"Seriously, Axel, stop it. Joking only covers up the bad; it doesn't fix it."

With that said, he took his leave, allowing his final words to sink into Axel's thoughts.

The redhead sighed once more. "Damn it, Demyx," he mumbled to himself. "Why do you always have to be right when it actually matters?"

He then began to get ready for the day. He threw on the clean shirt he picked out and changed his pants. About ten minutes later he was downstairs with Demyx and Zexion, standing in the kitchen.

"It's about time," Zexion said. "You ready?"

"I'm ready," Axel confirmed.

"Meet us outside, Zex," Demyx replied.

"Okay."

He turned to leave, but Demyx stopped him first. He pulled Zexion into him and gave him a quick kiss before letting him go. Zexion walked out, blushing lightly.

"You two really are good for each other," Axel told him with a smile. "Zexion deserves someone who can actually make him happy."

Demyx laughed. "You always say that."

"Because it's true."

He shook his head. Then the smile fell away. "I need you to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Promise me you won't start anything."

"Now why the hell would I do that?"

"I'm serious, Axel."

"So am I!"

He sighed. "Just be sure to cooperate."

"C'mon Dem, you're treating me like an eight-year-old. I'm eighteen for Christ's sake! I'm older than you, even."

"Only by a few months. And I don't care; that's not even the point. I just don't want…anything else to happen."

"You can say it."

"Say what?"

"That I fucked up my life."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did."

He shook his head at his friend. "We're not talking about this right now." He paused. "C'mon, Zex is waiting."

The two exited the house and met with Zexion at the end of the walkway. The three friends then made their way to the school. During the walk, Axel thought about his past and the events that took place that had led him to where he was today. It was the very beginning of his freshman year; the first week of school, to be exact. And it was that week he got in a fight. A fight? No. It was his very first fight and it was _the_ fight. The fight that had landed him in juvenile hall for three years. At the end of what would've been his junior year, when he turned eighteen, he was finally released. But there was no way in hell he was going back to that same high school come senior year. And since Demyx and Zexion had transferred high schools after he was sent to juvy, he decided to transfer to the same high school so he could be with them again. That was why he was now living with the couple. His two closest friends. He went from the big city to a small town, but he had had no other choice.

Or so he thought.

"So," he broke the silence, bringing himself back to the present, "what are the teachers here like?"

"Our teachers are pretty awesome, as a matter of fact," Demyx answered. "Freshman and sophomores share a set of teachers, and then juniors and seniors share a set of teachers."

"But the schedule goes: homeroom, first through six, and then back to homeroom," Zexion continued. "And the classes don't change day-by-day either."

"What about all your friends?"

"Don't worry, you'll meet them today," Demyx assured him.

"We always meet up in the front before and after school."

"But am I going to get along with them?"

Demyx shrugged. "You shouldn't have a problem."

"They're pretty open about everything and anything," Zexion informed him. "I wouldn't be too concerned."

"And is there anyone I should watch out for?"

"Actually—" Zexion started, but Demyx stopped him by wrapping his arm around his shoulders and covering his mouth with his hand.

"No, of course not," Demyx said instead.

"I don't believe you," Axel replied.

Demyx's hand dropped from Zexion's mouth, but he kept his arm around his shoulders. "Just relax, buddy. Everything will be fine."

Axel raised a skeptical eyebrow at Zexion. In return, the indigo haired teen just shook his head, implying to let it go.


	3. Chapter Two: The First Day

The three housemates arrived at the high school. It was decent in size. Axel's former school had been much larger, but it had been a city school after all.

They walked inside and soon stopped in front of a bulletin board.

"Here is where we find out our homerooms on the first day," Demyx informed the redhead. "Then in homeroom we get our actual class schedules for the year."

"It seems we're in the same homeroom, Demyx," Zexion realised, smiling with satisfaction. "And our homeroom teacher is Luxord."

"What about me?" Axel wondered.

"You have homeroom with Marluxia," Zexion answered after skimming for his name.

"And you have Roxas in your homeroom," Demyx added. "That's good. It's almost impossible to get in trouble with Roxas around."

"Then he needs to become my new best friend," Axel thought aloud.

Both Demyx and Zexion laughed at this comment as Axel turned away from them. His eyes surfed through the crowd of bustling students as he studied and observed his new learning environment. But then his eyes halted on one particular student. His dirty blonde hair was molded into spikes, much like his own red hair, but these spikes stuck up instead of back. If anything, he was around Axel's age, maybe a year younger. Then his green eyes met with the boy's blue eyes. Blue like the ocean. They lingered for a short moment before Axel swiftly turned back to Demyx and Zexion.

"Are you okay?" Demyx checked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

Zexion shrugged. "You seem a little flustered."

"Do I? Oh."

"Hey, there are some of the others now," Demyx then pointed out. "Hey guys!"" he called over to his other friends.

Axel and Zexion looked around. "Those three," Zexion began, pointing to a spiky haired brunette, a silver haired boy, and the blue eyed boy, "are Sora, Riku, and Roxas."

Roxas? That meant that one of them was in Axel's homeroom. He hoped it wasn't the blue eyed boy.

"Hey," the silver haired boy greeted them. "Who's this?" he then asked right away.

"This is Axel," Demyx informed them.

"Oh, you're the one they've been talking about all summer."

"You've been talking about me?" Axel asked in reply. He smirked. "All good things I hope."

He laughed. "I'm Riku Carter. And this," he put his arm around the brunette's shoulders, "is Sora Pruden."

Shit. That meant the blue eyed boy was Roxas after all.

"Are you two together?" Axel asked, even though he already knew the answer. He just wanted to ignore the fact about the blue eyed boy.

"Yeah, we are," Sora confirmed, smiling.

"I'm Roxas Hampton," the final boy then introduced himself.

Axel already knew that. And that was just his luck.

"And here comes the rest of the gang," Zexion announced.

Six more people then joined them in front of the bulletin board.

"Okay, so this is Kairi Brewer, Naminé Jenison, Xion Sinclair, and Olette Benson," Demyx began, pointing to a maroon haired girl, a blonde girl, a black haired girl, and a brunette girl. "And this is Hayner McKinney and Pence Oswald," he finished by pointing to a dark blonde haired boy and a dark brown haired boy.

"Everyone, this is Axel," Zexion informed the others.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Kairi replied. Her bright blue eyes seemed to shine with her smile.

"We've heard stories," Hayner added.

"Yeah, I don't wanna know which ones," Axel said back with a chuckle.

"What's the homeroom deal?" Pence then asked.

"Check for yourselves," Zexion answered, stepping aside, giving the others a chance to check out the lists.

The four girls stepped up to the bulletin board.

"Well, Riku, we have homeroom together," Naminé told him. "But it's with Vexen," she added dully.

"Olette and I have homeroom with Lexaeus," Kairi went on.

"Hayner and Sora, you guys have homeroom with Xigbar," Olette let the two boys know.

"And Pence, we have homeroom with Xaldin," Xion finished.

"What about Roxas?" Pence wondered.

"I have homeroom with Marluxia," he answered.

"You also have Axel in your homeroom," Demyx added.

The blue eyed boy flashed the redhead a shy smile at this. Then the first bell rang.

"Time to go," Kairi declared.

"We'll see you guys later," Olette replied. "We're all bound to have at least one class together."

Everyone then dispersed, leaving Axel and Roxas alone in front of the bulletin board.

"C'mon, follow me," Roxas told the redhead, his voice low due to his shyness.

The two walked to their homeroom in silence. When they got to the classroom, Axel almost instantly took note of who he assumed to be their teacher, Marluxia. Tall with shoulder length pink hair and blue eyes. He and Roxas then took seats at the back of the room.

"Okay, so what have Dem and Zex told you about the school?" Roxas spoke up, not sounding as shy anymore.

"What have they told you about me?" Axel asked in reply.

"Nothing bad."

He nodded. "And they haven't mentioned much about the school."

"Then let me educate you. First things first, Marluxia is indeed a man."

"Wait, what?"

He nodded. "I know. Anyway, Marluxia is a guy. He's really chill and laid back and allows students to call him Mar or Marly. He's also dating Vexen."

"Not to be rude, but are there any straight couples around here?"

"Well, pretty much all the teachers are male so…"

"So are you saying they've grown to have no choice but to be gay?"

"That sounds really bad, doesn't it?" He shook his head. "You know what I mean. Either way, Vexen is the total opposite of Marly," he then returned to the original topic. "He's usually always temperamental. But you can tell they're in a fight when Vexen is gloomier than usual and Marly becomes pretty irritable."

"How long do their fights usually last?"

"Not long at all." He cleared his throat. "Then there's Xigbar, the physical education teacher. He's half blind and wears an eye patch. Because of that, a lot of the students call him an undercover pirate." He rolled his eyes at this. "Then there's Xaldin, the culinary arts teacher. But if you saw him you wouldn't think that that's what he would be teaching. Still, he certainly knows how to use a knife."

"Is that good?"

"For the most part."

"Good to know."

"And then Lexaeus is the librarian. He allows absolutely no talking in his library, no matter what; he just will not tolerate it. Just like he doesn't tolerate Luxord, the mathematics teacher. He gambles, which actually makes him an awesome mathematician, but it also makes him a drunk. Well, I guess I shouldn't say it makes him a drunk, but he is a drunk. And he has come to school drunk on more than one occasion."

"Yet he wasn't fired?"

"Nope. The principal, Xemnas, is just as laid back as Marly. If not, more laid back. I mean, so much so that he almost seems totally emotionless at times. But many parents have made complaints, though they're never seen through. Either way, it makes Luxord's class easy."

The bell rang again. Marluxia closed the door to his classroom. Axel hadn't even noticed all the other students that had filed in while he and Roxas were talking. And that was unlike him to be so unaware.

"Welcome back," Marluxia greeted his students with a warm smile. "I hope you all had a nice summer break." Inaudible murmurs came from a few of the other students, followed by a few chuckles. "Now, I have your class schedules right here; I'll start passing them out."

"So is homeroom an everyday thing?" Axel checked.

"Yeah, we start and end everyday in here. It's only ten minutes, but still, it can be pretty relaxing."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So you're living with Demyx and Zexion, right?" Roxas then changed the subject.

"I am indeed. I moved in with them at the beginning of summer."

"Then where were you all summer? I mean, why are we only just meeting you today?"

Axel shrugged. "I was just sorta getting myself situated over the summer."

"That makes sense." He nodded. "Do you like it here so far?"

"It's not bad."

"By the way, what grade are you in?"

"I'm a senior."

"Okay, so you're Demyx's age."

"Well, I'm eighteen already, but yeah, we're around the same age. What about you?"

"I'm a junior like Zexion, except I'm still only sixteen."

"And the others?"

"All of the girls are juniors, as well as Sora, Hayner, and Pence. Then Riku is a senior like you and Demyx."

"Okay."

"Here you go, you two," Marluxia interrupted, handing them their schedules. "And welcome to our school, Mr. Rizure." He smiled. "We're glad to have you here."

He returned the smile. "Thanks." He looked his schedule over as the teacher walked away.

"Hey, look at that, we have second through fifth together," Roxas pointed out.

"Plus homerooms," Axel added.

"That's right." He smiled.

"And I somehow don't have any classes with Demyx or Zexion," he realised with a sigh. "Fantastic."

"That happens sometimes. Last year Sora and I didn't have any classes together, either."

The classroom door then swung open and a late student barged in. His straight blue hair fell well past his shoulders and his amber eyes had a sort of wildness to them. He was wearing a condescending smirk as he closed the door behind him.

"No…" Axel breathed, his eyes widening a bit.

"How nice of you to finally join us, Mr. Foster," Marluxia said. "Here," he handed him his schedule. "Take a seat."

"Sorry Mar," he replied. "I got caught up."

"On the first day?"

He simply shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say?" His condescending smirk returned. "I'm a popular guy around here."

Marluxia rolled his eyes. "Take a seat," he repeated.

"Oh yeah, that's Saïx Foster," Roxas informed him. "He's someone you should really watch out for. Just stay out of his way. Bad news is that he practically rules the school. Along with his 'right hand man,' Seifer Almasy."

Axel sighed. "Of course he does."

Saïx made his way towards the back of the classroom. That's when his eyes met with green eyes.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He took the free seat in front of the redhead. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

"I go to school here now," Axel answered.

Saïx laughed. "You're shitting me, right? Hah! You won't last a week here. Especially not with me around."

"We'll see about that."

He shook his head. Then his eyes slid over to Roxas. "Don't corrupt Blondie, here, Axel; he's too pure hearted. And we both know what you're capable of."

Roxas stared back and forth between Axel's glare and Saïx's smirk. Then Marluxia joined them.

"Tormenting the new student already, Mr. Foster?"

"No, Mar, of course not," he denied with a voice of fake innocence. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

He didn't look too impressed. "Behave yourself." He walked away.

"Face it, you're never gonna fool him," Roxas spoke up.

"Shut up, faggot."

"Hey," Axel replied sternly, "do not call him that."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Saïx."

He chuckled, shaking his head again. "You think you're so tough, don't you, Ax?"

"You would know."

His face darkened. "Let's get one thing straight, Rizure; this is my school. Around here, I'm the leader of the wolf pack. And you are in my territory now, so you better watch out."

"I'm not afraid of you, Foster."

He nodded patronisingly, and then checked out Axel's schedule. His smirk returned. "Looks like we have first and sixth periods together," he stated. "That'll be fun." He then moved back to the front of the room.

"What the hell was that about?" Roxas questioned.

"Nothing," Axel lied in denial. "Don't worry about it."

He looked away from the blue eyed boy. Great. He was back in school with Saïx Foster, of all people.

Just when he thought he had escaped, the cell door closed on him once again.


	4. Chapter Three: Thoughts

Axel took his time to return to the house that afternoon. And when he did finally get back, he found that Demyx and Zexion were both already home. He entered the kitchen and pulled his pack out from one of the drawers. He lit a cigarette, placed it between his lips and inhaled deeply. As he breathed out, Demyx and Zexion joined him.

"Axel, you know how we feel about smoking," Zexion stated, a tone of sternness in his voice.

"And you know how I feel about lying," Axel replied. He took another drag. "Why didn't you two tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Demyx asked.

"Why didn't you two tell me that Saïx attends this school?"

They both paused and exchanged uncertain glances. Then Demyx sighed. "We're sorry, Ax. It's just…we really wanted you to transfer here so we could watch after you, but we were afraid that if you knew Saïx was here you would back out."

"I still would've transferred, Dem, because I didn't want to go back to that other hellhole. And knowing about Saïx ahead of time would've been nice. That way I would've been able to prepare myself for an encounter with him."

"How often do you see him during the day?" Zexion wondered.

"He's in my homeroom and my fifth and sixth periods."

"Well, you have Roxas in your homeroom, so that's good," Demyx figured. "Who do you have in first and sixth?"

"Xion in first and Olette in sixth."

"That's good, too."

"That's not the point!" Axel suddenly exclaimed. "It doesn't matter who I have in class with me because he's still there!"

"Something happened," Zexion declared softly.

"Oh, he's practically blackmailing me already," the redhead went on. He took another long drag and exhaled slowly, calming himself down. "He's gonna try to ruin me all over again. And this time he'll have his friend Seifer to help him out."

"Yeah, Seifer's in our homeroom," Demyx told him. "I'm really sorry, Ax."

"Stop saying that."

A silence fell upon the three friends at that moment. Axel took a few more drags of his cigarette and exhaled the sweetly intoxicating smoke before putting it out.

"When did he transfer here?" he spoke up.

"Right after you were sent to juvy," Zexion answered. "So he didn't finish his freshman year back home."

"So he transferred before you two?"

"Correct."

"Did you two know he had transferred here?"

"Nope, so that was a bit of a disappointing shocker to him the first time we all bumped into each other," Demyx stated. "And to us."

Axel sighed. "Is there anything else either of you would like to tell me?"

"No," Zexion denied.

"Honestly?"

"Honestly," they confirmed in unison.

"Okay." He ran his hand through his spiky red hair. "I'm gonna go jump in the shower."

Demyx nodded. "All right."

Fifteen minutes later, Axel was relaxing with the help of hot water spraying his entire body. He thought more about why he was now in this town and he compared the reason to Demyx's reason and Zexion's reason. Axel being sent to juvy wasn't the actual reason they had transferred. They actually didn't transfer until about a year later. So Zexion never attended that high school. They both moved and transferred schools after they had come out to their parents at long last. While Zexion's parents just simply denied it and ignored it, Demyx's parents kicked him out of the house. So they both ended up leaving. And now Axel was living with them so he could escape the stares and whispers of his old classmates. He knew what they would've said about him behind his back if he had returned to that school. And even the unspoken words pierced his heart. He had never meant to go as far as he did those three years ago. It was really Saïx's fault, too; he had instigated Axel. But then again, it was Axel who had allowed Saïx to get the better of him and make him as angry as he did. Juvy taught him how to control that anger, though. To an extent, at least.

He sighed and finished his shower. He stepped out, dried himself off, and tied the towel around his waist. He went to his bedroom and just lay on his bed. Even though his past wasn't the greatest, Axel knew that he still had the future to look forward to.

Hopefully.

Then there was a knock on his door and Demyx let himself in. "How are you doing?"

He sighed again, sitting up. "Could be better," he admitted.

"And despite Saïx's presence, how was your first day of school?"

Now he shrugged. "No one knows who I am or what I did, so it was pretty good. No one was staring at me like they would be back at our old high school."

"You don't think Saïx will pull the same stunt he did three years ago, do you?"

"It's kinda hard to tell at this point."

"Well, just stay out of his way and I'm sure nothing will go wrong."

Axel laughed at this. "Stay out of his way? No. I don't think so."

"Axel—"

"No, Demyx, I'm not gonna give in to Saïx just like that."

"You're not giving in to him," he denied. "You're staying out of trouble."

He shook his head. "That's not possible for me with Saïx around. He's gonna do whatever it takes to get me going."

"So you're just gonna let him control you now like you let him do three years ago?"

"He was not controlling me!"

"Yes he was! Think about it, Axel; he's the one who got you so wiled up. He was able to control your anger. And now you're gonna let him do that all over again?"

"No. He will not control me."

"Then you will stay out of his way. And learn to control yourself while you're at it."

"I have," he claimed. Demyx raised an eyebrow at him. "For the most part," he added under his breath.

"Either way, Saïx has every teacher on his side, which is another reason to be careful."

"Not Marluxia."

"Huh?"

"Marluxia can't stand Saïx's attitude. I quickly learned that during homeroom this morning."

"Then he has all but one teacher on his side. He still practically rules the school!"

He shook his head some more. "That's all gonna change now that I'm around. Soon enough, he'll lose that damn crown of his and he'll know longer be the alpha."

"Don't get any ideas."

"Don't worry about me."

"Remember that you're eighteen now, Axel. If something else happens or if you do something stupid, then you could get arrested this time around. You wouldn't be sent back to juvy; you'd be sent to prison."

He sighed another time, falling back onto his bed. "Okay, okay, you're right."

"I know I am."

He rolled his eyes at Demyx, but the mullet head didn't notice. "How the hell am I supposed to stay out of his way? I mean, I have to deal with Saïx in homerooms and in first and sixth periods."

"You're never gonna have to face him alone."

"The others don't know my past with him, though," Axel pointed out. "If I had those periods with you and Zex instead it would be different." He paused. "Is it possible—?"

"No, we can't make any schedule changes," Demyx denied before Axel could even finished asking the question.

"Shit," he muttered.

"Sorry."

"Don't be." He sighed yet again. "All right, well, I have to get dressed now. So get out."

"All right." He left the room, closing the door behind him.

Axel dressed himself, hoping this upcoming school year wouldn't be so bad. But the truth is, he had no idea what would go down.


	5. Chapter Four: Hanging Out

That first week of school quickly came and went. And though Axel had almost every class with the blue-eyed boy, after that first day they didn't really talk much. And on the last day of the week, Roxas wasn't even there.

Either way, Axel had survived the first week.

"Hey Ax," Zexion started. It was late afternoon at this point. "Demyx and I are going out to celebrate the end of the first week with Riku and Sora," he told the redhead. "Would you like to tag along?"

"Nah, I'll just hang out here," he decided.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I don't really feel like going anywhere right now."

"You said that all summer."

"Zex, please, I'm not in the mood to go out."

"Okay, if you say so."

He sighed. "When will you two be back?"

"Honestly, probably not until late tonight."

"All right. See you later tonight, then."

"Bye Axel." He turned to leave, but stopped. "Oh, and don't stink up the whole house with your damn cigarette smoke." He then left.

Axel chuckled now. Then once he heard the front door open and close, he grabbed a towel and jumped in the shower. This time, he made it a fairly quick one. When he got out, he dried his hair and it stuck right back up. Then he heard a knock on the front door.

"It's open!" he yelled down the stairs.

Good thing he had a voice that could travel.

As he threw his boxers and pajama pants on, he heard the door open and close again.

"Zexion?" a male voice called.

Without bothering to throw a shirt on, Axel exited the bedroom and hurried downstairs and saw who was at the front door.

Roxas.

"Sorry," he said, leaning against the living room doorframe and folding his arms across his chest, "Zexion and Demyx went out about fifteen minutes ago."

"Really? How did I miss them?" Roxas asked himself. Then his eyes landed on Axel and they widened. He looked away while a blush spread across his cheeks. "Sorry, I didn't realise you were only half dressed."

He chuckled. "It's fine. What did you want to ask Zex?"

"Just what I missed today."

"Shouldn't you ask me?"

"Well, I would, but juniors and seniors tend to have a different workload."

He nodded. "Right." He paused. "What about any of the other juniors?"

"Zexion is the only one who takes notes."

"Of course he is. Well, he and Demyx won't be back until late tonight."

"Because they went out with Riku and Sora, I know. I just hoped I would've caught them before they left." He let out a short sigh. "Well, I'll just get going." He turned to leave.

"You can hang out here if you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course. Besides, I kinda like the company." He smiled.

He blushed slightly again. "Then I guess I'll stay."

"Come on in."

Roxas walked farther into the house, following Axel into the living room. The redhead quickly ducked into the kitchen and took out his pack of cigarettes.

"Do you mind?"

"I would prefer if you didn't," he admitted.

"Very well." He threw the pack aside. Then he turned around.

At this moment, Roxas saw the ink between Axel's shoulder blades. The tattoo was two wheels with eight spikes on each and they were engulfed with flames. Axel turned back around and Roxas took a clearer look at the upside down purple teardrops on his cheeks, along with his left eyebrow piercing. Then he noticed that the redhead was holding two cans of soda.

"Thirsty?"

"No thank you," he denied. "My stomach is still a little queasy."

"Okay." He put one can down, but opened the other and took a large gulp.

"I like your tattoos," Roxas then commented. "And I usually don't like eyebrow piercings, but you can really pull it off."

Axel smiled again. "Thanks. I like them, too."

He laughed a little. "Well, I would hope so."

He shrugged. "You never know."

A phone then started ringing.

"Hey, could you get that for me, Rox?"

"Sure." He picked up the cell phone next to him. "Hello?"

"Where the fuck are you?" an angry female voice questioned from the other end of the call. "I know you were released months ago. So where the fuck are you hiding?"

"Yeah, hi, I'm not Axel," he denied.

"Then put him on the damn phone," she replied through gritted teeth.

He pulled the phone away from his ear. "Hey Ax, there's some crazy bitch on the phone," he said loudly enough so she would still be able to hear him.

"Shit," he replied, instantly knowing who it was he was talking about. He took the phone from the blonde. "What the hell do you want?" he asked, heading into the next room over.

"What the fuck happened to you? Where the fuck did you disappear to?"

"I left," he answered simply.

"Why?"

"Because I wasn't going to stay at that place and go back to that school! I have one year left and I wasn't going to spend it in ridicule and exile."

"So you ran away?"

"No."

"Then come back here. Come back and be with me."

"Be with you? Please Larxene, you're the one who left me first."

"How the fuck do you figure that?"

"Let's see here…" he trailed off and thought for a moment. "Well, when I came home, the first thing I did was go to your house to see you. And what do I find there? You. Screwing around with some other jackass!"

"Did you really expect me to wait for you?"

"Do you really expect me to take you back?"

"You're a douche, Rizure. And you can't run away from your past."

"I'm not running away from anything. I just couldn't go back to that school after what happened."

"Tell me where you are, then. I'll come visit you."

"No. I don't want to see you."

"Bullshit."

"Shut up, Bishop. It's the truth. I'm through with you."

"You're only saying that because you're running away from your past," she said again.

"For the last time, that's not what I'm doing at all. Beside, it's kinda hard to do that when the past is here."

"And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Saïx is here," he admitted.

There was a pause before she burst into laughter. "Oh, that would happen to you!"

"You're a bitch."

"But I'm your bitch."

"No. I broke up with you. And I'm not the kind of guy that gives cheating whores a second chance."

"You're gonna regret this, Axel."

"Whatever." He hung up on her and rejoined Roxas on the couch back in the living room. "Sorry you had to hear all that."

"I'm guessing this chick is your ex-girlfriend."

"Good guess." He sighed. "Larxene Bishop. She's deviously manipulative. She makes you think she's the greatest thing to ever happen to you, and then she mercilessly rips your heart to shreds."

"Now I'm guessing that's where the cheating comes in. And you actually caught her red-handed?"

"Unfortunately, yes, I did."

"You seem to be over it."

"I am way more than over it." He let out another sigh. Then his phone started ringing again. He groaned.

"Let me handle this," Roxas said. He picked up the phone without giving Axel the chance to reply.

"Don't you fucking dare hang up on me again."

"I'm sorry, but Axel can't come to the phone right now," he told her.

"Who the fuck is this?"

"Name's Roxas. I'm a new friend of Axel's."

"And why can't that jackass talk to me?"

"To put it simply, he just doesn't want to."

"Excuse me?"

"What? Are you deaf? I'm pretty sure you heard me the first time."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I'm just a sixteen-year-old boy hanging out with your ex-boyfriend."

"You're not funny."

"Neither are you. And saying 'fuck' over and over again doesn't make you sound tough. But wanna know what you are?"

"I know what I am."

"Good. Then you know that you're a spoiled brat who thinks you can get fucked by every guy you meet. But truth be told, you're just an insecure bitch."

"You little prick! You can't talk to me like that!"

"I just did. Now, it's probably best that you stop calling this number. Bye-bye!" He hung up.

Axel gawked at the blonde. "Now that was spectacular."

Roxas shrugged. "It was nothing."

He laughed. "Wow…that seriously just made my night. You are officially my hero."

Another blush spread over his cheeks. "I'm glad I could satisfy you."

He studied the blue eyed boy. "Okay, so this may seem sorta random, but are you like Dem and Zex?"

"Am I gay, you mean?"

"Exactly."

He shrugged again, and then nodded. "Yeah, I am."

"Cool, cool."

"I've never had a boyfriend, though. Or even a girlfriend, in that matter."

"There's nothing wrong with that. I mean, the only people Demyx and Zexion have ever been with are each other."

"Really?"

"Really. And what about Riku and Sora?"

"Oh, before they hooked up, Riku was with Naminé and Sora was with Kairi."

"And are Hayner and Pence…?"

"No, no. They are very much straight."

"Then why aren't they with Kairi or Naminé or Xion or Olette? I mean, they're all pretty girls."

"If they're all pretty then why don't you hit on them?"

"Because I only just met them."

"Oh, so you don't believe in hitting on a girl at first sight?"

He laughed. "Can't say I do."

"But you are straight, right?"

"I do have an ex-girlfriend."

"Well, I wasn't sure if you were maybe bi or something."

"Oh yeah…" He thought for a moment. "Who knows? Maybe I actually could be. Most likely not, though."

They fell into silence. Axel finished the soda he had been drinking. He went to the kitchen to throw it away and picked up his pack again.

"I'll be right back," he told Roxas.

"You can stay in here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I guess I don't really mind."

"Okay." He sat back down and lit the cigarette hanging between his lips. He sucked in the smoke smoothly and exhaled away from Roxas.

And though the blonde couldn't normally stand cigarette smoke, there was something different about this smoke. It smelt almost…sweet when it came from the redhead's mouth. Just like how he didn't usually like tattoos or piercings, but everything Axel had and did just seemed so…wonderful.

"What did she mean when she said that you had been released months ago?" Roxas suddenly asked, remembering the first comment Larxene had made.

"Don't worry about it," Axel responded, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "So what do you want to do?" he then changed the subject as he put out the cigarette.

"Anything is fine with me," he answered, going along with the change. "I'm actually kind of tired."

"Me too."

"Maybe I should leave, then."

"No, stay here." He put the cigarette out. "You can nap on the couch and I'll nap on the floor."

"No, it's your house—"

"But you're the guest," he cut him off. He moved to the floor beside the couch. "It's fine. I don't mind sleeping down here. Really."

"Okay, if you say so," he replied. He lay down, his head at the same end as Axel's. "I don't want to sleep for too long, though."

His eyes were already closed. "Don't worry about it, Rox. Just go to sleep." He yawned. "You'll wake up when you wake up."

With that said, the two quickly fell asleep right where they were.


	6. Chapter Five: Walking

Roxas was twisting and turning on the couch. For some reason, he suddenly couldn't get comfortable anymore. So he twisted and he turned about. But then he turned a little too much and he rolled right off the couch, landing slightly atop of the redhead on the floor. His knees were to one side of Axel's waist and his hands were on either side of his head. Then blue eyes met green.

"Hello," Axel said with a smile.

"Sorry!" Roxas exclaimed. He hustled to get off of him and seated himself back on the couch.

"Don't be sorry. It's no big deal." He sat up and stretched.

"It's 11:30," he then pointed out. "I should probably get home now."

"Why bother?" He yawned. "You might as well just spend the night."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I need to get home."

"Why? It's not like we have school in the morning."

"That doesn't matter."

"Okay, okay. Then at least let me walk you home. I mean, I honestly don't want you walking alone at this hour."

"What about you, though? You'll be left walking home alone after you bring me home."

"True, but I know how to handle myself."

"All right, fine."

Axel laughed a little. "All right, just let me throw a shirt on." He jumped to his feet and left the room.

Roxas then heard the front door open and close. A moment later, Demyx and Zexion entered the living room.

"Roxas?" Demyx said. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask Zexion for his notes from school today, but I came right after you two left."

"So you've been here all night?" Zexion realised.

"Yeah."

"What did you and Axel do this whole time?" Demyx wondered.

"We slept. I was on the couch and he was on the floor."

Demyx laughed. "Nice."

"Was that all?" Zexion asked.

"No. We did talk at first about a few different things. And he got an angry phone call from a psycho ex and I put her in her place."

"Wait, Larxene called him?" Demyx clarified.

"What other psycho ex does he have?" Zexion pointed out.

Roxas laughed a bit. "Well, now he's gonna walk me home. Apparently he doesn't want me walking alone at this time of night."

Zexion nodded. "Yeah, Axel's protective like that."

"Hey, it's not like that's a bad thing," Axel replied, joining them back in the living room. "You ready to go, Rox?"

"Yeah," Roxas answered.

"Did you ask Zexion what you wanted to know?"

"Well—"

"Just call me tomorrow," Zexion told him.

"Okay."

"I'll be back," Axel then said.

"Don't take too long, Ax!" Demyx called as the redhead and the blonde moved toward the door.

"Stop worrying, Dem!" Axel replied. He and Roxas then left. "How far is your place from here?"

"Not too far."

"So do the rest of you all live together?"

"Sora, Riku, and I live together. Then all the girls live together. And then Hayner and Pence live together."

"Okay. And you and Sora…?"

He nodded, smiling now. "We're cousins."

"I figured you two were related somehow."

"Yeah, I know, we look a lot alike."

"You two could be brothers."

"That's what everyone says."

Axel chuckled. "Of course."

They continued to walk on in silence. And though it was dark, Axel looked around his new hometown. He had been there in the small town for a good three months now, yet he still hadn't taken the time to actually look at the place. And the truth is; there wasn't much to it. Then Roxas suddenly stopped, causing Axel to crash right into him.

"Sorry about that; I wasn't paying attention."

"It's okay. That was kinda like payback for me falling on top of you."

He laughed. "Exactly." He looked at the house before them. "So this is where you live?"

"Yeah," he confirmed.

He nodded. "I'll have to remember that."

Roxas blushed at this comment. And though it was dark, Axel still noticed the reaction and he laughed some more.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed." He ruffled the blonde's hair. His blush deepened. "And you're easy to embarrass. Oh, I'm gonna have so much fun teasing you."

"Shut up," he replied, still blushing. He then managed to shake it off. "Well, thanks for walking me home."

He continued to smile. "It was no problem at all."

"Are you gonna be all right walking back alone?"

"I'll be fine."

"Here," he pulled out his cell phone, "put your number in."

Axel did so, and then handed the cell phone back to Roxas, along with his own. "You do the same."

Roxas put his number in. "Call me or text me when you get home," he told him handing it back to him. "Please," he added.

"Will do."

The blonde then entered his house with one last smile. The redhead turned and started home. He pulled a cigarette from his pack and lit it. He took a couple of drags before it was taken from his grasp. He spun on his heel to see Saïx taking a drag.

"I didn't know you smoked," he spoke up, the cigarette between his lips, which were curled into his typical condescending smirk.

"Believe it or not, it kinda happens when you're in juvy," he admitted.

He chuckled. "It's like you came right out of some cheap, overly dramatic movie."

Axel took the cigarette back swiftly. "What do you want?"

"Why are you here, Axel?" he asked in reply.

"What does it matter?"

He continued to chuckle. "You haven't changed a bit."

"That's what you think."

"How was juvy anyway? Did you have fun there?"

"Oh, I had a frigging blast," he answered, his voice drenched with sarcasm. He took another drag of the cigarette, threw it to the ground, crushed it under his foot, and then exhaled the smoke. "I have to get going now." He turned to walk away.

"What? You don't stay out all night?" Saïx called after him.

"Bye, Foster!" Axel yelled back.

He continued to walk away, not allowing himself to stop. He arrived back at the house so many minutes later and was quick to get inside.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Demyx greeted him.

"I got a bit sidetracked."

"Saïx?" Zexion guessed.

"How'd you know?" Axel replied.

"He has a tendency for taking midnight walks," Demyx stated. "He and Seifer have vandalised our house on multiple occasions."

"Good to know. That won't be happening anymore, though." Axel then retired to his bedroom. And as he fell onto his bed, his phone began to ring. He smiled at who it was. "Don't worry, I just got back," he assured Roxas once he answered.

"Okay, just making sure," he said back. "I feel like it took a little while longer than it usually does for Demyx and Zexion."

He shrugged. "Maybe a few minutes. Nothing to get you concerned, though."

"Well, I'm gonna get to bed now."

"You're actually still tired?"

He laughed a little. "Honestly, yeah, I am."

"How? We slept for…I don't even know how long. But I do know it was long enough to not be tired anymore"

"I know, but it's probably because I was sick today and still kinda am."

"Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Exactly."

"All right, well, I'll let you go."

"Thanks. And make sure you still try to get some more sleep, too."

"Will do."

"Goodnight Axel."

"Night Roxas." He hung up.

Demyx and Zexion then let themselves into Axel's room without even bothering to knock first.

"Why'd Roxas just call you?" Zexion questioned.

"He was making sure that I got home safe and sound."

"Well, then he obviously doesn't know what you're capable of," Demyx replied.

"He doesn't know anything about me," he corrected him.

"That's not true," Zexion denied. "He knows your name and your age and your class schedule and—"

"And none of that matters," he cut him off.

"Pretty sure your name matters," Demyx disagreed, trying to be…playful.

"Shut up, you know what I meant."

"Speaking of which," Zexion then started, "how often do you see Roxas during the day? Besides homeroom."

"We have second through fifth together."

"Really?" Demyx said.

"Yeah, you didn't know that?"

"No. That's cool, though. It's good that you see him often."

"Because it's almost impossible to get into trouble with him around?" he repeated the words that had been spoken to him earlier that week.

He sighed. "Don't be like that, Axel."

"So," Zexion cut back in before an argument could break out, "how are you getting along with Xion and Olette?" he finished asking.

"Why do you care?"

"Because they're in the classes you have with Saïx and Seifer."

"What does that matter? Oh wait, it doesn't." He sighed. "Getting along with them isn't gonna get Saïx off my case. So I think it's safe to say that this year is going to be…interesting, nonetheless."

"Well, hey, you and Saïx have made it through one week without killing each other," Demyx pointed out, attempting to be cheerful now.

"But that's just a single week. We still have the rest of the school year ahead of us. Anything could happen."

"Just make it a good year," Zexion said back. "Focus on school and college."

"College? Hah! What college is going to accept me after seeing my permanent record?"

Demyx shrugged. "You never know, Ax. Some colleges might still accept you."

Axel shook his head. "I seriously doubt that." He let out a little chuckle. "If any college accepted me now, they'd be stupid."

Zexion sighed at this comment. "All right, let's just drop this. I'm tired and going to bed." He left.

"What happened between you and Saïx on your way back here?" Demyx questioned.

Axel shrugged now. "Nothing bad." The blonde raised an eyebrow at him. "Honestly, Dem. You don't have anything to worry about it."

"Okay, if you say so." He turned to leave as well.

"You also have no reason not to trust me."

He stopped. "I do trust you."

"Then start acting like it. Hell, you're giving Saïx more credit than me and it's bullshit. I deserve the benefit of the doubt over him."

His jaw was clenched and he swallowed hard. Then he nodded before exiting the bedroom.

"Nothing to worry about," he repeated. He sighed. "Not yet, at least."


	7. Chapter Six: First Half of School

Monday morning rolled around all too quickly. And homeroom passed just as quickly. Axel met with Xion in their first period class, which was science with Vexen. They sat in the back of the room, far from Saïx and Seifer, who sat in the very front.

"Starting the day with Vexen kinda sucks," Xion stated.

"Kind of?" Axel repeated. "It does suck. And it sucks even more that he adores Saïx. I mean, the douche practically has him eating out of the palm of his hand."

"Yeah, but Marly loves you."

"I feel like he loves everyone."

She laughed. "That's not entirely true. For example, as you've mentioned, he's not a fan of Saïx."

"This is true," he recalled.

"Good morning class," Vexen said in his annoying voice as he started the class once the bell rang. "Today, we will be learning…"

"I just don't understand what Marluxia sees in this guy," Axel continued in a whisper. "Mar is so outgoing while Vexen is just so…" he trailed off. "I don't even know. I peg him as the kind of guy who would be obsessive and possessive and just…not good company."

Xion shrugged. "Opposites attract, right?"

"The whole gay factor kinda defeats the purpose of that ideal."

She held back a laugh. "I don't think it's okay for you to say that."

He chuckled as well. "So long as my two best friends are gay, then I can get away with it."

"And what's so funny back there?" Vexen then questioned the two of them.

They both shut up instantly.

"Sorry," Xion said hastily.

"Well, what's so funny? Because your giggles are disrupting my class."

"We didn't mean—" Axel began.

"I don't care," Vexen cut him off.

"Maybe they should share the joke with us," Saïx spoke up. "I mean, if they interrupted _your_ class with it then it must've been very funny."

"Yeah," Seifer agreed. "Share with the rest of us the hilarious joke you two were laughing at."

"That's not a bad idea," Vexen replied.

Axel shot the smirking Saïx and Seifer nasty looks. Then he looked back at the teacher. "It wouldn't be funny to the rest of the class."

"Sorry," Xion repeated. "We'll be good now."

"You better be."

Vexen returned his focus to the lesson. And Axel tried to pay attention, but Saïx and Seifer wouldn't stop turning around to stare at him. He tried to ignore them, but he couldn't take it any longer; they were making it obvious that they were watching him.

"Stop staring at me!" he shouted, jumping to his feet.

"Excuse me?" Vexen replied.

"Axel," Xion muttered seriously.

"I'm sorry, sir, but Saïx and Seifer won't stop staring at me."

"What?" Seifer exclaimed. "We've been watching Vexen this whole time!"

"That's not true," Xion denied.

"Go to the principal's office," Vexen then ordered, ignoring Xion's defence.

"But I didn't do anything wrong!" Axel denied.

"Go to the office," he repeated sternly.

He sighed out of aggravation. "Fine."

As he passed Saïx, the blue haired boy slipped a note to Axel. He read it once he was outside the classroom:

 _Don't lose that temper of yours with the principal._

He crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it aside. Then he made his way to the front office. When he got there, he slowly opened the door and entered.

"Hello Axel," Xemnas greeted him without even looking at him.

"Hi."

"Vexen paged me to let me know that he sent you. Sit down, please."

The redhead took a seat.

"So," he now looked up at him with yellow eyes, "what seems to be the problem?"

"Honestly, it's Saïx Foster and Seifer Almasy, sir."

"And what are they doing?"

"Well, it's more of Saïx's doings, but Seifer's following along."

"You do know that Mr. Foster is one of our star students, right?"

"Yes, I'm aware of that. And I'm sorry, sir, but I really don't care. Being a star student doesn't automatically make him a good kid. And he's definitely not a good kid."

He looked back down at what he had been doing beforehand. "Do you and Mr. Foster have some sort of history?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did something happen between the two of you in the past? Because Marluxia mentioned something to me about the way you two acted towards one another during morning homeroom on the very first day of school. And that's not nearly enough time to develop such a problem with someone."

"Oh…well…yeah, we do have history. I don't really feel like getting into it, though. I mean, it's a long story."

"That's fine." He looked up again. "So why exactly did Vexen send you to me?"

"I accidentally disrupted his class," Axel explained. "Saïx and Seifer were staring at me and smirking and all this stupid bullshit, so I told them to cut it out. But I may have shouted it."

"How do you know they were staring at you?"

"I sit in the back of the classroom, sir, and they sit in the front. And they weren't trying to hide the fact."

He nodded his head once. "Very well, then. You are dismissed. Send Mr. Foster and Mr. Almasy down when you return to class, please."

"Will do, sir." He left and returned to his first period.

Vexen faced him as he entered the classroom. "Well?"

"Xemnas wants to see Saïx and Seifer," he answered.

"Fine. You two go."

As they passed, Saïx bumped Axel's shoulder…hard. Axel didn't care, though, because that smug look had finally been swiped from Saïx's face. He then took back his seat next to Xion.

"What did Xemnas say?" she whispered.

"Nothing bad. I'm not in any sort of trouble, I mean. But I feel like, if anything, Saïx and Seifer will be punished for this. To an extent, at least."

"Good."

"How many times do I have to tell you two to stop talking and pay attention?" Vexen asked them out of exasperation now. "Especially you, Mr. Rizure? Would you like to be sent back to the office?"

"No, sir," Axel denied. "I apologise, sir."

With that, he and Xion both shut up. And they were quiet until right before the end of class when Saïx and Seifer finally returned from the principal's office. Neither of them looked too pleased, either. But before any more questions could be asked, the bell rang. Axel and Xion sprang from their seats as they gathered their things. They exchanged goodbyes and headed for their next classes.

For Axel, the next class was math with Luxord. It was his first real period with Roxas, too. Kairi and Pence were also in the class.

"Hey there," Kairi greeted Axel with a big smile.

He smiled back. "Hey."

"What's up?" Pence asked.

He shrugged now. "Vexen sent me to the office last period."

"Why? What did you do?" Roxas wondered.

"I 'spoke out of term,' I guess. I don't really know. But it was because of Saïx and Seifer."

"How is it you and Saïx already hate each other?" Pence thought aloud.

"Don't even worry about it."

"Well, what else happened?" Kairi asked.

"I went to Xemnas's office. We talked a little and he sent me back calling for Saïx and Seifer. But I had been sent down a little before halfway through the period and probably came back at the halfway point. Then Saïx and Seifer went down when I returned and they weren't sent back until right before class ended."

"So they were down there for half the period?" Roxas confirmed.

Axel smiled smugly. "That's right."

Pence laughed. "That's a good thing."

"Of course it is," he agreed. "Hey, where's Luxord at?" he then asked, abruptly changing the subject when he realised that no one in class was on task.

"Sleeping," Pence answered, gesturing to the teacher's desk.

Indeed, Luxord was passed out with his head on the desk.

"Don't tell me he's drunk on a frigging Monday," Axel said.

"Oh no, he's not drunk," Kairi denied. "Just hung over," she added, speaking so nonchalantly about it.

"Mondays are typically hangover days," Roxas declared.

"Otherwise known as skip days for everyone who has him first and last period," Pence went on.

Axel chuckled. "This has to be my favourite class."

"Don't speak too soon," Kairi cut back in. "You haven't experienced a Thursday hangover yet."

"What do you mean?"

"For some odd reason, his Thursday hangovers are always the worst," Pence informed him. "They're the rarest, but still the worst. Everyone always assumes it's because Luxord realises over and over again that it isn't Friday yet and there's still one more day left until the weekend."

Axel nodded curiously. "I still can't believe he hasn't been fired yet."

"Xemnas can't find a good enough replacement so he just sorta deals with it," Roxas explained. He shrugged. "What else is he gonna do?"

"Teach it himself, perhaps?"

"Xemnas prefers to have as little interaction with students as possible," Kairi told him.

"Demyx said he was laidback."

"Oh, he is," Pence confirmed. "And that's because he doesn't typically punish students because he doesn't like dealing with them."

Now Axel chuckled. "Interesting."

The rest of the period was spent goofing off. When the bell rang, Axel and Roxas said goodbye to Kairi and Pence. They then headed for their next class, which was physical education with Xigbar. Riku and Sora joined them in this eventful period. That day, the half blind man was in an overall good mood. So that meant that he would actually go easy on anyone who couldn't complete his crazy boot-camp-like course that day. And on this particular day, it was a lot of running and hurdling and just a lot of legwork in general.

"So Axel, how do you like it here so far?" Sora wondered as they waited at the back of the line to start the course.

"Sora, he's only been here for a week," Riku replied.

"That doesn't mean he can't have an opinion," he pointed out.

Axel laughed. "It's not too bad here. I mean, having Saïx around kinda sucks, but other than that it's a pretty decent place."

"Is there anything that makes being here worth it, despite having Saïx around?" Roxas questioned.

He shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I haven't really thought about it."

"What about Demyx and Zexion?" he thought aloud.

"Oh, well, yeah, of course. But that just goes without saying."

"And is there anyone else?" Sora questioned.

"I don't know," Axel repeated.

"Stop chatting and start running!" Xigbar suddenly yelled.

That's when the group realised it was their turn to start the course. Roxas and Sora went together first, followed by Riku and Axel.

"You know," Axel began when they made it back to the other two, "Roxas here has made it pretty bearable." He nudged the blonde, smiling and out of breath.

The blonde blushed at the comment, causing the redhead to laugh. "Shut up," he replied.

Now Riku laughed a bit. "That's cute, Rox, you have a little crush on Axel."

His blush deepened. "I do not!"

"Stop teasing him, Riku," Sora said.

"C'mon, babe, it's all in good fun."

"It's also not true," Roxas declared.

"It's okay, Rox," Axel assured him, still smiling and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. "Dem used to have a little crush on me, too."

"Get away from me," Roxas muttered back, pushing the redhead away.

"You guys are awful," Sora stated.

"No, it's okay," Roxas told his cousin. "I don't mind the teasing."

"See? Stop worrying," Riku replied.

"Fine," he gave in, folding his arms across his chest.

"Stop being such a chick, babe."

"You're lucky none of the girls were around to hear that."

"I wouldn't have said it if any of them were."

Laughing at the couple's bickering, Axel turned to Roxas. The blonde looked away and blushed again. At this notion, the redhead nudged him once more to let him know that he had noticed this. Roxas returned his glance to Axel and smiled shyly.

"Don't stop moving!" Xigbar yelled at them again.

The four of them all jumped back into action and went on their way with the rest of the course. But the entire time, Axel couldn't help but to watch Roxas. Better yet, he knew the blonde was watching him as well.


	8. Chapter Seven: Second Half of School

The rest of third period seemed to go on forever. The bell finally rang, though, and they were all quick to make their way out. Axel and Roxas said goodbye to Riku and Sora, and then made their way to their fourth period class with Marluxia. And though Axel wasn't a big fan of drama and music, he still enjoyed the class. Naminé and Hayner joined him and Roxas in this period.

"Hello everyone," Marluxia greeted the class after taking attendance. "How are all my lovely students today?" The class murmured their replies. He chuckled. "Good, good. Well, I have a little something special planned for you all this week," he then stated. "Since it's still the beginning of the year and I want to get to know you all better, I want the lot of you to create a soundtrack of your life."

"What?" Hayner questioned, clearly confused by the assignment already.

Marluxia laughed a bit more. "I want you to take some of your favourite songs and make a soundtrack of your life with them."

"Any of our favourite songs?" Naminé clarified.

"Yes and no. Here, pass these out." He handed someone a pile of papers and had her pass them out to the rest of the class. "For the soundtrack you need to come up with songs that make you happy, angry, sad, so on and so forth."

"A personal anthem?" Axel read off the paper.

"Yes. A song that you think represents yourself perfectly. Almost like a theme song," Marluxia explained. "Now, you have this week to come up with your soundtrack and next week you will all be presenting them."

"What will we be presenting, exactly?" Roxas wondered.

"Well, along with each song you need to write an explanation as to why you chose it. So for the presentation you will take one song from your soundtrack and tell the class the explanation for it while it plays in the background. Which reminds me, I will also need copies of all the songs you put on your soundtrack, so be sure to make CDs for me."

"Are we allowed to use songs with foul language?" Naminé checked.

"Miss Jenison, I'm surprised at you for asking that question."

She laughed. "I'm asking for my boys, here, since I figured they probably wouldn't want to."

"Ah, of course." He shook his head, also laughing. "I will accept foul language, yes," he then answered. "Are there any other questions?" There was no reply. "Okay. You have the rest of the class to begin."

"This is stupid," Hayner said to the others.

"I think it sounds like fun," Naminé disagreed.

"You think everything sounds like fun."

"No arguing, you two," Axel replied. They laughed at him.

"I don't know," Roxas then began. "I think it'll be interesting to see what people come up with. I mean, it'll definitely teach us something about all of them. Maybe even about ourselves."

"Why do you always have to be so philosophical?" Hayner asked.

"Shut up," he replied.

"Coming up with ten songs can be difficult, though," Axel then thought aloud.

"Mr. Rizure," Marluxia suddenly called, "may I speak with you for just a moment?"

"Be right back," he said to the others. He walked over to Marluxia's desk. "What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you about Mr. Foster."

"Ah. What about him?"

"Well, Xemnas asked me to watch out for you. He let me know that you and Mr. Foster were having some problems first period."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Vexen hates me."

"That's not the point. Since the first day of school, you and Mr. Foster have been at each other's throats."

"I know and I'm sorry about that. I truly am. It's just that Saïx can get me really worked up sometimes."

"Why?"

He shook his head. "I really can't talk about it, nor do I want to. It's too much for me," he admitted.

"So you two have a rough past?"

"Basically."

"Do Demyx and Zexion know about it?"

"Of course they do. I mean, they were around for it. They won't tell you anything about it, though."

"Why not?"

"Because they don't talk about it without my permission or unless I'm present."

"Can you give them permission, then?"

"I'm afraid not."

"And why is that?"

He shrugged. "I don't want anyone here to know about what happened."

"Axel, you can't just act like it never—"

"I'm not," he cut him off in denial. "I just don't want people here knowing about it. No one would look at me the same."

He sighed, giving in. "Very well."

"Sorry." He returned to the others.

"What was that about?" Naminé wondered.

"Nothing," Axel denied.

"Okay," Hayner replied, easily letting it go.

Axel looked to Roxas. The blonde had raised a skeptical eyebrow at the redhead. He only shrugged his shoulders again in reply. Roxas gestured to Marluxia with a jerk of his head. Axel then shook his head at him. The blonde sighed in defeat.

"Do you two have any idea what you might use for your ten songs?" Naminé then asked them.

"Not yet," Roxas answered. "When I get home I'm gonna look through all my music. I figured I'll try to get two songs done a day."

"That's a good plan," she said. "And what about you, Axel?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea…"

When the class ended, Axel and Roxas said goodbye to Naminé and Hayner, and then made their way to their fifth period. It was a free period in the library with Lexaeus. When they got themselves situated there, Roxas pulled out a blank piece of paper and scribbled something down. He passed it to Axel:

 _What did Marly talk to you about?_

Axel scribbled his reply and passed the paper back to Roxas:

 _It was nothing that you have to worry about._

Roxas shook his head at the words on the paper:

 _I'm sorry, Axel, but I just don't believe that._

Axel sighed at this and thought hard about how he could reply:

 _It was just about what happened during first period. He wanted to know why Saïx and I don't get along._

Roxas seemed to take his time with his next reply, which ended up being only a single word:

 _And…?_

Axel sighed again:

 _And that's it._

Roxas started his next reply almost with a look of confusion on his face:

 _But you and Saïx—_

Axel took the paper from him before he could finish:

 _You don't need to know what happened between me and Saïx. That's between me and Saïx. So, please, just drop it._

Roxas looked almost upset now:

 _Okay…_

The note passing ended there. And even as the bell rang, nothing was said. But Axel did mutter a quick farewell to Roxas before going on his way to his sixth period. It was another period with both Saïx and Seifer, but he had Olette there to attempt to make it better. But that day the culinary arts teacher, Xaldin, was in a particularly foul mood. He didn't even tell them what they were supposed to do. Instead, he just gave each pair a cookbook and plopped down behind his desk. And so Axel didn't do much during the period. But since Olette was a straight 'A' student, she found a decently simple recipe that she began to prepare.

"Xion told me what happened first period," Olette finally spoke up. She tore her eyes away from the cookbook to look at the redhead. "I know you won't want to hear this from me, but you do need to be careful. Since you're already eighteen you're more susceptible to just be expelled on the spot."

"Why am I the one who has to be careful? Shouldn't Saïx be careful, too? He's the same age as me and he's the one starting shit."

"Exactly. He's the one stirring trouble so you need to be careful as to not react to it in a bad way."

He sighed. "Yeah, I get that," he admitted.

"I'm not trying to sound condescending or anything—"

"No, I know. And you don't."

"Good. It's just that Demyx and Zexion really care about you. And they personally asked me and Xion to watch out for you, so I wanna keep that promise. Plus, you've grown on Roxas very quickly, which is unusual for him. I mean, he doesn't typically get close to people, let alone strangers. So that just tells me you have potential."

"Don't lie to him, Benson," Saïx suddenly cut in. "You wouldn't want to get his hopes up and encourage him for nothing. Plus, you could encourage the wrong thing. And we wouldn't want any accidents now, would we?" He smirked.

"What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"Nothing," Axel quickly denied. "But if you don't want any accidents, Foster, you're better off walking away right now."

"Hey, that was a threat," Seifer pointed out. "Xaldin, can you come here, please?"

"What the hell is going on?" Olette exclaimed with exasperation. "He didn't even do anything, Seifer."

"What is it, Mr. Almasy?" Xaldin asked. "And it better be something good if it made me get up and walk over here."

"I just wanted you to taste this and tell me what you think of it," Olette quickly lied. "Seifer thinks it's missing something."

The dreadlocked teacher grabbed a spoon and tasted what the brunette girl was working on. "It's perfect, as usual, Miss Benson. Anything else?"

"Guess not," Saïx denied.

"Good." He returned to his desk.

"Wow. Why let me go this time?" Axel wondered.

Saïx shrugged, though he was still smirking. "It's only the beginning of the school year." He and Seifer then returned to their station.

"What was that about?" Olette wondered.

The redhead sighed another time. "They just have nothing better to do."

"Yeah, they can be pretty ridiculous," she thought aloud.

"Thanks, though."

She smiled. "Of course."

The rest of the period was spent mostly in silence. Axel watched Olette cook, as did the rest of the class since they weren't doing anything either. Even Saïx and Seifer were interested in the brunette girl's actions. And she finished five minutes before the bell. She had made blondies, which were just white chocolate brownies. She gave their fellow classmates and Xaldin one. Then Axel wrapped up the rest to take home. He gave them to Olette, but kept two to give to Roxas and Marluxia. Then the bell rang and he made his way to homeroom. He arrived before Roxas, as usual, and took his normal seat in the back. Not too long after, Roxas entered the room.

Axel flashed him a smile. "Hey there."

He smiled back, already blushing a bit. "Hey Axel."

"Here." He gave him one of the blondies. "Olette made these last period and I snagged one for you."

"Thanks. Who's the other one for?"

"Mar."

"Nice."

They fell silent as the blonde ate. Once the bell rang again, the entire homeroom had arrived. The other students were just chatting with one another.

"Olette's good at everything," Roxas spoke up when he finished. "Writing, math, baking…" he trailed off.

The redhead chuckled a bit. "Zexion's the same way. Always has been."

"When did you even meet Demyx and Zexion?"

"I met Demyx in sixth grade, and then we both met Zexion in seventh grade when he had entered sixth grade."

"So you've all known each other for a long time."

"We have indeed."

"You must've missed them a lot when they moved here."

"Definitely," he admitted. "I had needed them most at that time, too."

"Well, we all know why they transferred here. So why didn't you transfer with them when they did?"

"I couldn't." He thought for a moment. "And they were initially going to stay because of me, but I told them to go."

"But if you needed them, then why—?"

"It's complicated."

"Oh." He paused. "I'm sorry. I'm asking too many questions."

"Don't worry about it."

"I wonder what Marly is talking to Saïx about," Roxas then changed the subject.

Axel looked to the front of the classroom. Indeed, Marluxia looked as if he was scolding Saïx. And the blue haired boy looked quite unpleased by this.

"They're probably talking about what happened first period," Axel figured. "It's a damn good thing Mar likes me."

"Yeah, I think you're his favourite student."

He shrugged. "Maybe. I'm just glad I have him on my side."

They continued to watch Marluxia and Saïx. The pink haired teacher seemed to be very calm with their conversation. But the blue haired student seemed to be losing his cool all too quickly.

"Fuck this bullshit!" Saïx suddenly shouted and he stormed out of the classroom.

Everyone stared as the door slammed shut. There was only a moment of silence before they all returned to their prior conversations, though.

"Whoa," Roxas said in a low voice.

The final bell then rang. The bustle of the classroom started about again and everyone left.

"Hey, Rox, you go ahead," Axel told him. "I'll catch up."

"All right." He left.

The redhead approached his teacher. "What did Saïx just freak out about, if you don't mind me asking?"

Marluxia sighed. "Oh, he just thinks I'm being unfair about the situation you two have."

"Why?"

"He thinks I'm choosing sides."

He rolled his eyes. "He's only angry because you're trying to help me and he's actually being denied for once. He's used to things always going his way."

He nodded. "Yes, I've come to learn that since he transferred here. He rapidly gained control of the student body, I will admit." He let out another sigh. "Don't worry about it, though, Axel. We'll figure things out."

"Thanks Mar."

He smiled. "You're welcome. Now, get out of here."

He laughed. "See you tomorrow." He went to leave, but stopped. "Oh, this is for you," he remembered, and he placed the blondie on Marluxia's desk.


	9. Chapter Eight: A Request

When Axel exited the school, he saw that Roxas was right out front.

"Hey, you didn't have to wait for me," he said, walking up to the blonde.

He shrugged. "I wanted to."

"Did the others already head home?"

"Yeah."

"All right. Let's go, then."

They started home. The walk began in silence.

"Oh, so during winter break," Roxas spoke up, "Sora and Riku are gonna be going away for the week. So I was kinda wondering if you would maybe want to stay with me at my place." He was blushing again. "I mean, I know we haven't known each for very long and that it's still a long ways off, but I was just wondering…if you would want to."

He smiled. "If you don't want to be alone, then sure, I'll stay."

"Really?" His eyes lit up at this. Axel laughed and Roxas blushed once again. "I mean, it's not for quite some time, so you'll have plenty of time to think about it or to change your mind or whatever."

"Don't worry about it, Roxy," he replied. "I'm not gonna change my mind. I mean, I don't want you to be alone for an entire week. I know I wouldn't want to be."

"Thanks Axel."

"No problem." He paused. "Where are Riku and Sora going that week anyway?"

"They're visiting Sora's family."

"Isn't Sora's family your family?"

"Yeah."

"Then why aren't you going, too?"

He shrugged again. "Because it's just immediate family, so it's not like my parents will be there. Not that that would make me want to go."

"You don't want to see your aunt and uncle?"

"Were you not just listening? I don't even care to see my own parents."

"Wait, why not?"

"I don't really talk to them anymore. Let's just say Sora's parents are more open minded than mine." He paused. "What about your parents?"

"My parents?" He sighed.

"I'm guessing that's another question that goes a bit too far."

"Kind of, yeah."

"Sorry."

"It's fine."

Silence fell back upon them. Axel pulled out his pack and lit a cigarette.

"Do you carry those everywhere with you?" Roxas asked.

Axel shrugged, taking a drag. "I guess so."

"Well, make sure no one at school catches you with them."

"What does it matter? I'm eighteen. Besides, it's not like I smoke at school or on the grounds or whatever."

He shook his head. "They don't care. Possession on school grounds is not allowed or tolerated."

"You're worrying too much about this."

"I just don't want you to get into any trouble."

"And I appreciate that, but—" he stopped himself when he noticed the concern in the sixteen-year-old's blue eyes. He sighed. "Okay, I'll start leaving them at home."

Roxas still looked worried, but said, "Okay."

Axel smiled, trying to cheer the blonde up now. Roxas didn't return the smile, though. The redhead sighed again. He took a final drag and threw the cigarette on the ground, crushing it under his foot. Then in another attempt to cheer the blonde up, he threw his arm around his neck, smiling widely.

"What are you doing?" Roxas exclaimed, stumbling to the side a bit because of the sudden weight Axel had thrown onto him. He was blushing again.

"You're so cute when you blush, you know that?"

His face reddened even more. "Stop it!" He tried pushing him away, but Axel wouldn't budge. "C'mon, Axel, get away."

"Why? Don't you like this?"

"Axel, seriously!"

He backed away a bit, but kept his arm around Roxas. "That better?"

"A little, yeah."

"Roxas, if I ever make you feel uncomfortable in any way or form, please let me know. Got it?"

He nodded his head once. "All right."

"Like right now, for instance."

"I'm fine right now."

"And what about when you came over last Friday and I didn't have a shirt on?"

"That was okay, too. Just a little weird because I still didn't really know you."

"And you know me now?"

"Well, I know you better now than I did then."

He laughed. "So tell me what would make you uncomfortable."

He shrugged another time. "I don't really know. I have to be put in the situation first, I guess."

"So like just now when I was in your face? Did that make you uncomfortable?"

"Sort of," he admitted.

"Sorry. I was just trying to cheer you up."

He smiled at this. "Thanks."

"No problem. But you know, you really are cute when you blush. That's why I enjoy teasing you."

Once more, his cheeks went red. "Shut up."

He laughed. "Too cute."


	10. Chapter Nine: Caught In the Moment

The rest of the week went by quickly. Axel didn't have any more trouble with Saïx or Seifer, besides a glare here and there. That didn't bother the redhead, though. And when Saturday night rolled around, Roxas was back over the house while Demyx and Zexion were out.

"So I don't think I've ever seen Saïx back down this easily," Roxas stated as he grabbed drinks for the two of them.

Axel laughed. "That's because he's dealing with me."

"Oh, right, of course," he replied sarcastically, though he was laughing as well. He returned to the living room and handed the redhead a can of soda. "So how's your soundtrack for Marluxia's class coming along?"

His eyes widened and he choked on the gulp of soda he had just taken. "Shit!" he yelled, coughing. "I completely forgot about that damn project!"

"Oh. It's a good thing I said something, then."

"No kidding," he replied. "Shit!"

"Do you want me to help you with it?"

"No. I'll be able to throw something together tomorrow."

"Okay. And remember, each song needs a paragraph—"

"—explaining why we chose that song," he finished for him. He took a sip of his soda. "I know."

"Well, do you have any songs in mind?"

"Not really."

"What the hell were you doing during fourth period all week, then?"

He shrugged. "Just listening to my music."

He rolled his eyes at the redhead. "You're ridiculous. Marly gives us in-class time to work on the project and you still don't do it. You're just like Hayner."

"So what? It shouldn't be that difficult to do."

"Axel, it actually ended up taking me all week to put my soundtrack together. And now you're gonna do it in a single day?"

He took another sip of the drink, shrugging. "Maybe I just won't bother."

"Oh no, no, no. You are not taking a zero for this project," he denied. "I'll come over tomorrow to make sure you do it. I'll also help you if you need it."

"Why do you care so much about my grades?" he wondered. Then it hit him as soon as he finished speaking. "What have Demyx and Zexion told you?"

"What are you talking about? They haven't told me anything. I just don't like seeing my friends fail, is all."

He sighed. "Sorry. I thought that maybe—"

"You thought wrong," he cut him off. "You should be more trusting of Demyx and Zexion with your secrets."

"I am! C'mon Rox, what are you getting mad at me for?"

"I'm not mad. I just don't understand why you would doubt your best friends."

"I wasn't doubting them, I—"

"Whatever." He turned to leave.

Axel grabbed around his wrist. "Hey, hey, hey, hold on," he stopped him. "What just happened? What did I just do wrong?"

Roxas shook his head. "I-I don't know," he admitted softly.

Axel turned the boy to face him. Green eyes met blue eyes and they were locked in the moment. The redhead didn't know what he was doing anymore. Those blue eyes caused his mind to go completely blank. He pulled the blonde closer into him. Roxas didn't resist, but he did whisper the name of the redhead now holding him. It was a sound that sent shivers down Axel's spine. Then their foreheads were touching. Green eyes were full of lost longing and blue eyes were full of hopeful concern…

And then the front door opened, causing them to spring apart.

"We're home!" Demyx called. He and Zexion entered the living room. "What's going on here?" he asked, instantly feeling the awkward atmosphere that had settled in around them.

"Nothing," Roxas lied, staring at the floor. "I've gotta get going." He left in a hurry.

"What was that about?" Zexion asked after hearing the front door slam shut.

But Axel didn't hear him. His eyes were transfixed on where Roxas had just been standing and his mind was lost in the previous moment that had almost happened.

Were he and Roxas just about to…kiss?

"Axel!" Zexion raised his voice, snapping the redhead out of it. "What the hell just happened?"

"I don't—I don't know what you're talking about," he lied as well, turning away from them.

"Then why did Roxas just practically run out of here?" Demyx wondered.

"Maybe he was just in a rush to get home."

"Bullshit," Demyx denied. "What was going on before we got home?" His eyes then widened, followed by a smirk. "You like Roxas, don't you?"

"What? No!"

"Yes you do. And you two kissed just now."

"No, we did not kiss." He paused, debating for a moment. "We maybe…almost did," he decided to admit.

"What?" Zexion exclaimed, now smiling as well.

"Nothing actually happened."

"That's not the point, though," Demyx replied. "It almost happened!"

Axel sighed. "It's not like that. Roxas is just my friend. Besides, I'm straight."

"Or maybe you're bi."

"No Dem, I'm straight."

"But you and Roxas would make such a good couple," Zexion thought aloud.

"I don't like him that way!"

"Bullshit!" Demyx repeated. "Obviously you do a little if you almost just kissed him!"

"Stop yelling," Zexion ordered softly but sternly. "Axel, think about it; if you didn't like Roxas in that way—even a little bit—you wouldn't have almost just kissed him. So maybe it's a subconscious thing."

Axel sighed again, falling onto the couch. "But I—I don't…" he trailed off. He thought about what he wanted to say, the other two waiting patiently. "I really don't like Roxas in that way. It's just not possible."

Demyx rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He left, heading upstairs.

"Why isn't it possible?" Zexion wondered.

"Why do you two care so much about this?" Axel asked in reply.

"Because you're our friend and Roxas is our friend and we want both of you to be happy. And I mean, you two became such good friends so quickly, which is unlike Roxas since he's so shy and—"

"Yeah, Olette said something along those lines," he recalled.

"Exactly. Plus, you two do seem to make each other happy on a different sort of level."

"A different level?" he repeated. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Just—"

"No, never mind," he then cut him off. "Roxas and I are only friends."

"Then stop leading him on."

"I'm not—"

"All that teasing you do is flirting, Axel. So stop it because I really think Roxas actually does like you. And I'm not the only one who thinks that."

"He knows I'm just teasing and he knows I'm straight."

"Well, he's gonna start to think otherwise after the fact that you almost just kissed him."

"No he's not."

"Either way, he's obviously still crushing on you no matter what he thinks he knows."

He sighed once again. He went to reply, but his phone began to ring. It was Roxas. "Hold on," he said to Zexion. He walked out of the room and answered the call. "Hey Rox."

"Hey," he replied. "Sorry for just…taking off like that."

"You don't have to be sorry. But I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"Honestly, I wasn't at first…but that was because I didn't really know what was going on."

"Yeah, I didn't either."

"It's okay, though."

"Roxas—"

"Axel, really," he cut him off. "Just…don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." He paused. "Do you still want me to come over tomorrow?"

"Only if you want to," he answered. "I will admit, though, I probably won't do any of my work unless you do come over and keep an eye on me."

He laughed a little. "Okay. I'll be sure to stop by, then."

He smiled. "All right. See you tomorrow." He hung up and rejoined Zexion in the living room.

"Who was that?"

"That was Roxas."

"And…?"

"He said that everything is fine. He's aware that it was just a misunderstanding and he'll be able to move past this."

Now he sighed, giving in. "Fine. I guess I'm going to bed, then." He turned and walked away.

Axel fell back onto the couch with another heavy sigh. "Why does something always have to happen that ruins everything else?" he asked himself. He shook his head. "Hopefully this time things will still work out in the end."


	11. Chapter Ten: Soundtrack of Your Life

"Wake up!" a male voice loudly sounded off in Axel's ear. "Come on, Axel, it's almost one o'clock in the afternoon so it's time to get up! We need to work on your project for Marly's class!"

Green eyes flickered open and met with blue eyes practically right above his. He groaned. "I don't wanna get up."

"Too damn bad." Roxas pulled the covers off of him. "You don't have a choice."

He sat up, clearly unpleased. The blonde only laughed at the redhead's blatant look of annoyance.

"You're an ass," Axel said, propping himself up on his elbow. "And that was a risky move you just took."

"What do you mean?"

"I could've been naked under these covers."

Roxas blushed lightly. "Shut up."

Axel chuckled as he swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up. He grabbed a pair of sweats and stumbled his way into them. "All right, I'm ready."

"What about your shirt?"

"It's not like I'll be leaving the house."

"Then why bother changing putting pants on?" he wondered.

"So you don't get uncomfortable."

"Oh. Well…come on."

He let out another little groan. "How do you have so much energy right now?"

"Because, like I said, it's already one o'clock in the afternoon. So stop complaining and get your laptop so we can get started." He walked out of the room.

Axel grabbed his laptop and followed Roxas out. They headed downstairs and settled in the living room. Roxas sat on the couch and Axel placed his laptop on the coffee table, but remained standing. Demyx and Zexion came in from the kitchen.

"You actually got him out of bed," Demyx said.

"Shut up," Axel replied.

"What are you two even doing?" Zexion asked.

"I'm helping him with a project for Marly's class," Roxas answered. "It's due tomorrow and he hasn't even started it yet."

Demyx laughed. "Way to go, Ax."

"What's the project?" Zexion wondered.

"We have to create a soundtrack of our lives," Axel told them both.

"Yeah, Marly would do something like that," Demyx replied. "Well, Zex and I are going shopping."

"Is there anything you need Axel?"

"Not that I know of. But if I think of something, I'll text you."

"Very well," Zexion said. "We'll be back later." The couple left.

"Okay, where's your music?" Roxas asked.

Axel bent over and brought up his music. "Right there."

"All right. Now, do you have any ideas for any of the soundtrack themes?"

He thought for barely a moment. "Nope."

He laughed out of exasperation. "C'mon Axel, you gotta have something in mind."

"I don't, though. I really haven't given it any thought."

"Then come and sit down so we can look through these songs."

Axel hesitated, but finally took a seat on the couch beside Roxas. Their shoulders and knees were touching. They were so close…

"Okay, so which bands are your favourite?"

He shrugged. "I like all kinds of music."

"C'mon, Axel, you have to do this." He suddenly squinted at the screen. "Do you have Nickelback on here?"

"I used to sorta be a tool and they're nostalgic to me."

"Yikes, I might have to rethink being your friend."

He ruffled the blonde's hair. "Shut up."

Roxas laughed. "Okay, okay, let's get serious now."

"Look up Breaking Benjamin," he then told him.

He typed the band name into the search bar. Twenty-six songs popped up by them.

"Perfect," Roxas said. "Let's start with your personal anthem."

"I was actually thinking that we could do that one last."

"Very well. We'll start with the relaxation song, then."

"None of these songs are very relaxing, though."

"You're being so difficult right now," he said, though he was smiling.

He chuckled in reply. "Yeah, that's kind of a specialty of mine."

"Of course it is." He shook his head at him, though he was still smiling. "Either way, you need to get this done."

"For the last time, I know!" He sighed, trying not to get overly frustrated. "Okay, for a relaxation song I could use…I don't know. But for a sad song I could use _Mad World_ by Gary Jules."

"Good start. Now, why that song?"

"Because it's about a man who feels lost in the world and like he doesn't really matter; he's just another insignificant piece of the overall puzzle. And he feels he'd be better off dead."

"Okay. And for a love song?"

"Let's go back to that one."

"All right. So what about an angry song?"

"Oh, I have plenty of those."

"Choose one."

"I dunno, Rox. I could use a song by Breaking Benjamin or Of Mice & Men or Memphis May Fire or—"

"Why not choose a single song from each of those bands, and then narrow it down from there?" he suggested.

"I guess we could do that."

"Good. So which Breaking Benjamin song?"

He thought for a moment. " _Had Enough_."

"Oh…I used that one for my angry song," he told him.

"Wait, you like Breaking Benjamin?"

"Yeah, because I actually have good taste in music."

He laughed. "Shut up. I just wouldn't have expected you to be into them."

"Well, I am."

"All right. So that song's out."

"So which Of Mice & Men song?"

"Either _I'm A Monster_ , _You Make Me Sick_ , or _Public Service Announcement_."

"Those definitely sound angry." He paused. "And which Memphis May Fire song?"

" _The Abandoned_."

"Okay. So we'll go through the rest and go back to those three after. So now how about an energised song?"

"Get back to it."

"A reflective song?"

"Get back to it."

"A problem song?"

He thought for a moment. " _Terrible Things_ by Mayday Parade."

"Why that one?"

"Because it's about a man telling his son not to fall in love due to the fact that he lost the love of his life to sickness. So since he doesn't want to chance his son going through the same thing, he'd rather him never find love at all. And I don't know about you, but I'd say that's pretty damn problematic."

"I suppose it is." He paused. "All right. How about a song of strength next?"

" _I Will Not Bow_ also by Breaking Benjamin."

"Why?"

"Because it's about never giving in and finding the strength to carry on even when you know all hope is lost."

"Nice. And lastly, you need an instrumental song."

"I have no idea."

"All right. Then let's backtrack and try to figure out the love song, the angry song and the reflective song."

"Okay." He thought about it for a moment. Then he began looking through the songs in front of him. "I'm gonna go with," he started at last, " _Iris_ by The Goo Goo Dolls for my love song."

"Why that one?"

"There's just something about it…" He sighed. "I dunno, it's just always stuck out to me, I guess. I mean, just the thought of wanting to hide from the world, but then wanting to reveal yourself to that one special person…" He lost himself in thought for a moment.

"That seems like a good enough explanation to me," Roxas said, bringing Axel back to reality. "And the angry song?"

"I think I'll go with _You Make Me Sick_ by Of Mice  & Men. That song just reminds me of Larxene and no one gets me more pissed off than she does."

"Not even Saïx?"

"Good point."

He laughed a bit. "Okay, so now what about the energised song?"

"For that one I'm leaning towards _Animal_ by Neon Trees."

"We'll just put it down for now, then. If you wanna change it later you can." He paused. "And do you have any ideas for a personal anthem?"

"Possibly."

"Well…?"

"I'm doing that last."

"Very well, then. So you're more than halfway done. All you have left are the anthem, the song of relaxation, the reflective song, and the instrumental."

"And it took you a week to do this?"

"Hey, you still need to write your one paragraph reasons and come up with five more songs."

"I thought you were writing down my reasons."

"I'm just writing down little blurbs down. You need to add to them, though, and elaborate on them."

He sighed again. "Fine."

"Axel, I can't do this all for you."

"Writing down the words I say isn't doing it for me."

"That's still not how it works," he denied.

"Why not?"

"Because Axel," he chuckled a little more, "it's not difficult to do write ups. I mean, if you really feel that the song belongs under that theme then it'll be easy to come up with an explanation."

"Damn."

"What?"

"You're right."

He laughed again. "Good to know you agree."

He smiled back. "Shut up." He sighed once more, leaning back on the couch and putting his hands behind his head. "Break time."

"Axel!"

"What? I'm more than halfway done! I deserve a break now."

"It hasn't even been an hour yet."

He shrugged, his eyes closed now. "Oh well."

Roxas gave in before also leaning back. He accidentally bumped Axel's shoulder, but before he could do anything, Axel took that arm and put it around Roxas's shoulders, pulling the blonde into him. So Roxas was now resting a little bit on the redhead's chest. At first, the blonde was a little tense. But then he managed to unwind and he made himself comfortable. Axel felt this movement of relaxation and smiled. Then he realised the situation and recalled the moment from the night before. This caused him to abruptly sit up, disrupting Roxas.

"What's wrong?" the blonde asked.

"N-nothing," the redhead lied. "I just—I need to go to the bathroom." He stood up and rushed out of the room. When he reached the bathroom, he sighed again. He rested his hands on the counter and looked down. "What the hell am I doing?" he asked himself. He ran his fingers through his hair and tied it back into a low ponytail, though some of the spikes didn't remain within the confinement of the elastic. "Zexion was right," he then admitted in realisation. "Shit." He exited the bathroom and returned to the living room. "Sorry about that."

"Is something wrong?" Roxas checked.

"I don't know…maybe."

"What is it?" He really did sound concerned.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He sat back down.

"No. Tell me."

"It's just that…I feel like I may be accidentally sending you mixed signals."

"What do you mean?"

"Roxas…I'm straight."

"I know that."

"But do you actually believe it? Because I feel like you may be mistaking my teasing for flirting or that I may be unintentionally leading you on. For instance, last night and now just about five minutes ago."

"Axel, I know you're just teasing and you're not leading me on. At least, I don't feel like you are. I know you're straight and no matter what the others say, I do not have a crush on you."

"Really?"

"Really."

"I am so relieved to hear that."

He smiled. "Yeah, you have nothing to worry about. I mean, last night…that was just a weird mistake. I'm sure it could happen to just about anyone. And then five minutes ago was nothing. It was nice. But it's not like I thought you were trying to make a move on me or anything like that."

"Okay, good."

"Can we finish this now?"

"We can try."

"We'll be able to, Axel."

"All right, if you say so."

With that said, the two went back to work on Axel's project. But despite their just finished conversation, the redhead couldn't help but feel that the blonde wasn't telling him something. He also felt that he might even be hiding something from himself…


	12. Chapter Eleven: Presentations

With Roxas's help, Axel did indeed manage to complete his soundtrack project by the end of the day. But even after Roxas left, Axel went back to it to look it over and he ended up changing a couple of his songs. Then he worked on copying all the songs over onto the CD for Marluxia.

Then at school the following day at school, fourth period rolled around all too quickly. Everyone settled into their normal seats once the bell rang and Marluxia stood at the front of the classroom.

"You can hook up your iPods or CDs to this device," he began. "And I slightly changed my mind about how the presentations will go," he stated. "You will all still present that one song you've chosen, but then I will choose the second song for you all to present as well."

Mumbles of complaints sounded off from some of the students, but they were swiftly silenced. Then Marluxia started calling on people at random to present their two songs. Out of Axel, Roxas, Hayner, and Naminé, Hayner was the first to be called. But as it turned out, he didn't even bother to do the project. And so Marluxia obviously just skipped him and called on a few other students. Then he called on Naminé.

The petite blonde girl made her way to the front of the classroom. She gave a short introduction before she began listing off her songs. Personal Anthem: _Twilight_ by Vanessa Carlton. Song of Relaxation: _Breathe (2am)_ by Anna Nalick. Sad Song: _Nobody's Home_ by Avril Lavigne. Love Song: _I'm Here_ by Aly  & AJ. Angry Song: _Nobody's Fool_ by Evanescence. Energised Song: _Flux and Flow_ by Lights. Reflective Song: _Hallelujah_ by Kate Voegele. Problem Song: _Bones_ by Ginny Blackmore. Song of Strength: _Impossible_ by Kelly Clarkson. Instrumental: _The Silent Force Intro_ by Within Temptation.

"And which song have you chosen to explain to the class?" Marluxia wondered.

"My song of strength," Naminé answered with a firmness in her tone. She put her CD in the player and started it. "Again, this song is titled _Impossible_ and it's sung by Kelly Clarkson. I chose it as my song of strength because it's about rising up and standing tall and having faith in yourself. To me it tells the story of a girl who was always shot down and nobody ever believed what she was capable of. But then she became sick of that degrading lifestyle and decided to step up for herself and prove everybody wrong. By doing so, she was able to reach the impossible," she concluded.

"Very good, Miss Jenison," Marluxia told her. "Now, the second song I want you to explain is your reflective song."

Naminé nodded once before changing the song. "My reflective song, again, is titled _Hallelujah_ and it's by Kate Voegele. Or the version I chose is sung by her, at least." She chuckled almost nervously. "I chose it as my reflective song simply because it's a song that gets me thinking every time I listen to it. I mean, I almost develop a new story in my head every time I hear it, so it's almost as if it could be about anything. Yet, at the same time, I still feel like it's always about the same thing."

"And what would that be?" Marluxia asked.

She thought for a moment. "Raw emotion," she stated. "Not just love and pain, but raw emotion in general. True emotion. The kind of emotion and feelings you only express with that one special person. But, of course, the outcome can vary because that person may be your one and only, but that doesn't automatically make you their one and only. And I believe that's what hallelujah is."

The class fell silent before applauding her. Marluxia even stood up for her. "Very nice! I really like the way you approached those themes. That was incredible."

She smiled. "Thank you." She retrieved her CD before handing it and the project in to Marluxia and sitting back down with the others.

"All right Roxas, you're next," Marluxia called.

The blue-eyed boy got up and followed the same procedure as Naminé. Minus the short introduction. Instead, he began listing his songs off to the class right away. Personal Anthem: _Sanctuary_ by Utada Hikaru. Song of Relaxation: _Ever the Same_ by Rob Thomas. Sad Song: _What Hurts the Most_ by The Rascal Flatts. Love Song: _Mona Lisa_ by the All-American Rejects. Angry Song: _Had Enough_ by Breaking Benjamin. Energised Song: _You and I_ by Ingrid Michaelson. Reflective Song: _The Redeemed_ by Memphis May Fire. Problem Song: _The A Team_ by Ed Sheeran. Song of Strength: _How Does It Feel_ by Avril Lavigne. Instrumental: _Mother Earth Intro_ by Within Temptation.

"Oh good, I'm glad to see a variety of artists between the two of you," Marluxia said with a chuckle, referring to him and Naminé. "Now, which song have you chosen to give us an explanation to?"

"My love song," Roxas stated. He hooked up his iPod and pressed play. "This song is titled _Mona Lisa_ and it's by The All-American Rejects. Now, if you listen to only the verses then it doesn't seem like your typical love song because it's not about a particular person or the relationship between two people or whatever. But once you get to the chorus you realise it's about staying with someone as the world comes to an end. And if that isn't romantic then I'm not really sure what is. Because, I mean, if you have that one person that you would sit with as the world falls apart, then I'd say that there's a seriously good chance you're in love," he finished.

"I would certainly have to agree with you on that, Mr. Hampton," Marluxia said. "And the second song I would like you to explain is your energised song because I'm not sure if I've heard of the artist."

"Oh. Well, my energised song is _You and I_ by Ingrid Michaelson," Roxas reminded the class as he put his iPod on that song. "Right off the bat I know that it doesn't sound like a very energetic song, but it does pick up a bit during the chorus. But what I find energetic about it is the fact that I tend to lose myself in this song. There's something about it that just makes me want to get up and dance around. Sloppily, better yet."

"Sloppy dancing?" Marluxia repeated, laughing.

"I know it sounds weird, but I mean that kind of dancing where you just sort of let your body go and let it do its own thing." He laughed as well. "Maybe it doesn't make sense to the rest of you, but it certainly makes sense to me. And I believe that makes it all the more energetic."

Again, Marluxia applauded and the class followed. "Excellent!" he said, still laughing a bit. "Very well said."

"Thanks Marly." He got his iPod and handed everything in to Marluxia before taking his seat back.

Marluxia continued to call on his students. And at long last, he called on Axel. By this point he was the only one left.

The redhead moved to the front of the classroom. "All right, so I had a really hard time narrowing down each of these themes to a single song. There are so many I wanted to use and so many that could've been used. So even now I still don't feel as if it's totally complete. Either way, what's done is done and what's chosen has been chosen." He cleared his throat. "For my personal anthem I chose the song _Maybe_ by Sick Puppies. For my song of relaxation I chose _Collide_ by Howie Day. For my sad song I chose _Mad World_ by Gary Jules. For my love song I chose _Iris_ by The Goo Goo Dolls. For my angry song I chose _You Make Me Sick_ by Of Mice  & Men. For my energised song I chose _Animal_ by Neon Trees. For my reflective song I chose _Second Chance_ by Shinedown. For my problem song I chose _Terrible Things_ by Mayday Parade. For my song of strength I chose _I Will Not Bow_ by Breaking Benjamin. And lastly, for my instrumental I chose _The Burden (Interlude)_ by Memphis May Fire."

"I just have a quick question based on what you said to start," Marluxia said.

"Shoot."

"Were there any last minute changes to your soundtrack?"

"As a matter of fact, there were a couple of changes."

"Which themes?"

"Well, my personal anthem changed quite a few different times. Then also my reflective song changed."

"Why did those two themes change?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, just because I couldn't make up my mind. And I'm sure I'd changed them again right now if I could."

He laughed a little. "Very well. Go on, Mr. Rizure."

"Right. So I'm actually gonna explain my personal anthem to all of you." He hooked up his album and started the song. "Again, this song is titled _Maybe_ and it's by the band Sick Puppies. Here's a funny thing about this song; it's not one of my favourites. I mean, it wouldn't even be in my top ten. And I think that's part of the reason as to why it works so well as my personal anthem. It represents my life and who I am so well that I can't even call it a favourite song." He shook his head. "This song is all about hitting that point where you figure out it's time to change. It's time to get your shit together and figure out your life and get yourself back on the right tracks. And I really hate how accurately that depicts me and my life. And I think I'm just talking in circles now." He laughed. "Well, to put it simply, this song might as well have been written for me and about me."

"Don't worry, I understand," Marluxia replied once he finished. He flashed him a smile and Axel smiled back sheepishly. "Would you mind explaining your love song now?"

He swallowed hard. "Sure." He nodded, focusing on the entire class again. "My love song is _Iris_ by The Goo Goo Dolls. And this one is actually one of my all-time favourite songs. That's not why I chose it, though. No. I chose it because it's another one of those songs that doesn't seem like your typical love song. It's about someone who spends a lot of time hiding. But they don't hide because they're afraid of ashamed or anything like that; they hide because most people don't try to understand who they are. It's almost like when rumours are spread. People are more than willing to jump on board with them, but they're never willing to prove them. They'd rather just believe them, not even caring if they're true or not. And I guess I can relate to this song as well. I mean, not gonna lie, but I've had my fair share of rumours spread about me. So sometimes when a rumour is spread about me, I feel better off avoiding the world. Yet at the same time," his eyes met and locked with Roxas's at this moment, "I can't help but to feel that there's someone out there who wouldn't judge me if they knew everything about me. There's someone out there who will accept me for me. But it's not that simple to find that person when you're hiding. Sometimes they find you instead, though." He paused before sighing and looking down. "Either way, I just feel that that's a good portrayal of love. You know, someone who's more than willing to accept you for you rather than accept you for the false rumours they've heard." He took a deep, shaky breath. "Excuse me…" He walked out of the classroom.

Roxas was quick to follow him out. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked before realising that the redhead already had a cigarette resting between his lips. "Axel, what did I tell you about that?"

He sighed, smoke pouring from his mouth. "Sorry."

"That's not an excuse."

Marluxia joined them. "Go back inside, Mr. Hampton," he said. Without another word, the blonde did as he was told. Marluxia faced Axel. "What happened?"

"I'm guessing you're not asking about just now."

"Not exactly."

He took another drag. "You mean Saïx hasn't told you the rumours already?"

"The false rumours?"

"Hah. If only."

"Either way, I never asked him. I figured he would try to make you look bad. But I feel like you would tell me the whole truth."

"No matter who you hear it from, I'm gonna come off as the bad guy. There's really no way around it. I mean, why else do you think I would try so frigging hard to keep it all a secret?"

"Axel, please, I'm not asking you as your teacher; I'm asking you as a friend."

He laughed. "And you're probably told to say shit like that to us."

"That's not true."

More smoke filled the air. "Look, Mar, I appreciate the concern—I really do—but I'm not telling you what went down between me and Saïx."

"Why won't you?"

"Because you don't need to know. Plus, I'm not gonna start the rumours myself."

"Are you implying I would spread the story?" he asked. The redhead only took another drag in response. Now he sighed. "Have you told Rox—?"

"No! I haven't told anyone I've met here because I don't want anyone here to know. I came here to escape my past, remember?"

"But it'd be best to tell me now just in case Saïx does something in the future. That way you have an alibi."

"I don't need a frigging alibi." He threw the cigarette on the floor and stomped on it. Just then, the bell rang. "Ugh. Later." He turned to leave.

"Please be rational, Axel."

He shook his head. "I just need to get out of here before I freak out." He walked away. And this time, Marluxia didn't stop him. He couldn't since the redhead had been lost in the swarm of students.

Instead of heading to his next period, Axel stormed out of the school and started back to his place. His pace was swift. And as he was walking, his phone went off. It was a text from Roxas:

 _Where are you?_

He didn't bother replying. He did bother pulling out and lighting another cigarette, though. Hell, he wasn't even positive as to what had just caused him to meltdown like that. After all, he was only talking about the love song he chose. His explanation for the love song. He had made direct eye contact with Roxas. He let out an exasperated sigh, suddenly feeling…embarrassed. He took a drag and his phone went off again. Another text from the blonde:

 _Seriously, Axel, are you okay?_

He ignored this message, too. He didn't want to talk with anyone. He couldn't. So he took another drag and held it in, feeling the smoke fill the crevices of his lungs. Then he released the smoke as his phone went off a third time. Roxas again:

 _Please answer me._

This time he just erased the messages and shut his phone down. If Roxas asked about it later—if? Of course he would ask about it later. So Axel decided that he would just lie and tell him that he never received the messages. But the truth is, the redhead just didn't know what to tell his new friend at this point. Should he continue to ignore the past or was it time to bring it to the present and come clean? Would it be better for him to start the rumours about himself instead of Saïx? Maybe… If he were to tell the truth, though, it would be truly difficult for the redhead. The blonde meant a lot to him already and the last thing he wanted was to ruin this new relationship. This brand new…friendship. He didn't know what exactly it was, but he did know he didn't want it ruined.

Then only problem was that the only thing Axel seemed to be any good at was ruining his life.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Reactions

Once Axel got back to the house, he spent the rest of the day lazing on the couch and smoking a new cigarette practically every half hour. By the time Demyx and Zexion returned home, he was about halfway through the pack he had just bought on his way home. But when they entered the living room coughing from all the smoke, he realised that Roxas was also with them.

"What the hell, Ax?" Demyx exclaimed angrily.

The redhead put out the cigarette he had at the moment. "Sorry."

"Sorry?" Zexion echoed. "I thought you hated when people said that."

Now the redhead only shrugged.

"Axel, why did you walk out today?" Roxas asked calmly.

"Because I didn't want to stick around," he finally gave a real answer. "I couldn't."

"You had no right to walk out of school like that, Axel!" Demyx continued to yell.

"Dem, stop shouting," Zexion said back. "It's not gonna help."

"Can I talk to him alone?" Roxas then asked the couple.

"Sure," Zexion confirmed. He and Demyx left the other two alone in the living room.

Axel sat up on the couch, placing his feet on the floor now. Roxas took the newly opened seat beside him.

"Please talk to me," the blonde spoke up after a few moments of silence, his voice soft. "You were able to ignore my texts, but you can't ignore me now. So just talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about," the redhead denied.

"That's a lie."

"It's no big deal, Roxas!" he shouted, jumping to his feet.

"And there's no need to raise your voice," he replied, still very calm.

This reaction and attitude helped the redhead to calm down as well. He sat back down on the couch. "It's no big deal," he repeated.

"And I don't believe that."

He sighed. "Listen Rox, I want to tell you the truth, but—"

"Then tell me."

"—I can't," he finished.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know how to tell you."

"Just say what you want to say."

"It's not that simple."

"Really? Or are you just saying that?"

"Really. If it were that simple then I'd have no issue with Saïx."

"Okay. You can tell me once you're ready, then."

"What if I'm never ready?"

He laughed a little at this. "You'll be ready at some point, Axel."

Once again, he sighed. "What I want to tell you is really…personal. It's something that I actually don't want anyone here to know about."

"Then why do you want to tell me?"

"Because you're different, Roxas."

A light blush spread across the blonde's cheeks. "How so?"

"I know you would never use the information against me."

"Of course I wouldn't. But neither would any of the others."

"Well, I also feel like—" he cut himself off. "Never mind."

"No. Tell me."

He shook his head. "No. Don't worry about it."

"Axel—"

"Roxas, please, just let it go."

He sighed. "Fine. But only for now."

"That's all I ask."

"Now," he held out his hand, "give me your pack. Or what's left of it, at least."

"Excuse me?"

"You've had enough of those damn cigarettes to last you the rest of the month. Or to last you a lifetime, really."

Axel growled a little, but still handed Roxas the rest of his pack. "Anything else?"

"Here's your iPod," he said, pulling the device from his pocket. He handed it to Axel. "I grabbed it when I realised you had left."

"Thanks."

"Oh, and Marly gave you a one hundred for the project."

"He didn't fail me for walking out of his class?"

"No. Why would he do that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

He laughed. "Marly likes you, remember? I doubt he would ever fail you for anything."

"I doubt that."

"Okay. He wouldn't fail you unless you actually deserved it."

"That still seems stupid."

"Do you want to fail?"

"It's not like it matters if I do or not. You won't let me fail anyway."

"You're damn right I won't," he confirmed.

"All right," Demyx interrupted, reentering the living room. "This whole frigging house smells like something died and has been rotting for a week."

"It does not smell that bad," Axel disagreed.

"You only think that because you're used to the scent," Demyx pointed out.

"Then open the windows," Axel suggested. "All of them."

"I really don't think that's gonna do shit," he replied as he walked out again.

The other two remained silent for a couple minutes.

"I'm sorry about today," Axel spoke up. "In case you haven't figured it out already, I have a bit of a hard time controlling my temper."

"That's okay. I'm a patient person and I'll be able to put up with you."

"But I don't want you to have to put up with me; I don't want to be a burden. And I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

"You won't."

"Roxas, I—"

"You're not going to hurt me," the blonde assured the redhead. "If you truly care about me and if I'm really your friend then you'll be able to stop yourself from hurting me."

"So you would think…"

"So I know."

He sighed. "Your certainty doesn't make me any surer."

"Well, did you hurt your psycho ex when you caught her cheating on you? Did you hit her or the other jackass?"

"No…"

"If you didn't hurt them for hurting you, then why would you be afraid of hurting me for no reason at all?"

He paused. "That's not the point—"

"Stop," he cut him off once again. "Just believe and trust me like I believe and trust you."

Now he smiled sheepishly. "Thanks Roxas. I know how difficult I can be."

"If Demyx and Zexion can put up with you then so can I. And I don't mind putting up with you," he said again.

"All right. And you actually might be doing a better job at putting up with me than Dem and Zex."

He laughed at this. "Why do you say that?"

"Because Demyx usually just yells at me, and then Zexion usually doesn't know exactly what to say to me. But you always stay calm and you always seem to have the right words right at the tip of your tongue."

He smiled. "As long as you know that I'm always here for you."

"What if it's four o'clock in the morning?"

"Just call me."

He returned the smile at this point. "Thanks Roxas," he repeated.

"Stop thanking me," he replied, blushing deeper now.

"Sorry, but I just had to get that blush out of you."

He laughed again, still blushing. "Obviously."

"Obviously," he echoed, ruffling the blue eyed boy's dirty blonde hair.

"So do you want to know what else you missed today?"

"Nah, I only missed two periods. And one of them was Lexaeus's do nothing period and the other I have with Olette."

He thought for a moment. "Good point."

"So I didn't really miss anything."

"Guess not."

They fell silent again. Axel looked around the room finally noticing the haze of smoke that had filled it. Roxas, on the other hand, sat looking at his hands, which were folded on his lap.

"Why were you looking at me?" the blonde suddenly questioned, his voice soft again.

"You're gonna need to more specific than that," the redhead responded. "I look at you a lot."

"During your presentation," he then specified. "When you were explaining your love song and got to the part about the person out there or whatever. You looked right at me and stopped on me while you said all of that."

"Oh." He paused. "Well—"

"Never mind," he now stopped him. "You don't have to answer that."

"It's fine, Roxas."

"No. I feel like it's just gonna lead us back to the topic of sexuality and I'm honestly getting really sick of talking about that with you. I mean, I know you're straight and that's that."

"Roxas—"

"Don't worry about it."

"Will you please let me speak?"

He shut up and his gaze fell back down. "I'm sorry."

"I looked at you because you've been such a good friend to me. We haven't known each other very long, but I've never become so close with someone as quickly as I became close to you. There's something different about you and I just—"

"Stop," he cut him off again.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I just don't want to talk about this."

"Are you okay?"

"No. You told me to tell you if you ever make me feel uncomfortable. Well, I'm telling you that this topic is making me feel uncomfortable."

"But—"

"I don't want to talk about this," he repeated, his voice stern. "Please don't make me say it again."

"Fine," he gave in.

They fell into yet another silence.

"Does it really smell that bad in here?" Axel spoke up.

"Are you really that used to the scent?" Roxas asked in reply, seeming almost disgusted by the thought.

"I guess I must be."

"That's not a good thing."

He shrugged. "Oh well."

He then sighed. "I should get going." He stood up. "You'll get this back," he held up Axel's pack, "next month."

"Next month?" he complained.

"Shut up. You'll survive."

He slouched, folding his arms across his chest. "Fine."

"Pouting isn't going to help you get these back any sooner."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

He shook his head. "I'll see you tomorrow, Axel. But if you want or need to talk, feel free to call me at any time. And I really do mean any time."

"Four o'clock in the morning?" he repeated.

Now he chuckled. "Four o'clock in the morning."

He smiled. "Will do."


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Then and Now

Demyx and Zexion rejoined the redhead in the living room after the blonde took his leave.

"Is everything okay now?" Zexion checked.

"For the most part."

"Can you tell us what happened now?" he wondered.

"Roxas didn't tell you already?"

"He felt that you should tell us yourself," Demyx said.

"Well, I don't really feel like talking about it," Axel denied. "Not right now, at least."

"All right, that's fine," Zexion told him.

"Thanks."

"Just one more thing," Demyx began, "never smoke as many cigarettes as you did today in one day ever again. Especially not in the house."

"Don't worry, Roxas took my pack from me."

The other two gaped at Axel.

"You allowed him to do that?" Demyx questioned incredibly.

"It's not that big of a deal," the redhead denied.

"Oh please, whenever Dem or I have tried that before, you pretty much threatened us," Zexion replied.

"I'm not gonna threaten Roxas."

Now Demyx smirked. "Because you like him, right?"

He glared at the sandy blonde. "Don't even start with me."

"What?"

"For the last time, Dem, I do not like him…in that way."

"You say that, but do you mean it?"

"Stop it, Demyx," Zexion cut in. "Axel has enough problems already."

"Exactly," he confirmed. "I don't need you adding any more confusion to my already fucked up life."

"Your life is not fucked up," Zexion then denied. Axel raised an eyebrow at him. "It's not!"

He sighed. "C'mon Zex, think about what I did."

"I'm well aware of what you did, Axel. But if you think more about it then you'll realise that it was Saïx's fault."

"I already know that it was his fault; he instigated me. But that really doesn't matter. That doesn't make up for what I did. Besides, I flipped out over the stupidest shit. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I should've had more self-control."

"He deserved it," Demyx thought aloud.

"And I would love to agree with you on that, but even I have to admit that I went too far."

He sighed with a moan. "You're thinking too much about it, Ax. It happened so long ago now. It's time to just let it go."

"No, Dem." He got up. "I'm tired." He went to leave.

"Hold on," Demyx stopped him.

"No. Just let him go," Zexion said back.

"Yeah, just let me go," Axel replied. He then rushed up to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He collapsed onto his bed, full of a sudden rage. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" he asked himself. He sighed once more, pulling out his phone. He was ready to call Roxas, but decided against it. But then his phone rang anyway. He rolled his eyes as he answered it. "I'm really not in the mood right now, Larxene."

"Then let me put you in the mood," she replied, attempting to be seductive.

"What the hell do you want?"

"You know what I want. Or do I need to remind you?" she wondered. He could hear the smirk in her tone of voice.

"I broke up with you, Larxene. It's time you get over it."

"But you're not even over it yet."

"Yes I am. I'm _way_ over it."

"Prove it."

"What? No!" he exclaimed. "I don't need to prove anything to you. I don't even do the long distance things anyway."

"Then tell me where you are and I'll come to you."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want you here."

"Excuse me?"

"I have enough of my past here already; I don't need or want more of it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I already told you."

She was quiet for a moment. "That's right!" she remembered. "Saïx is there." She laughed. "Come home, then."

"Home? Hah! That place is not my home. And there's no way I would ever go back there."

"You're a pussy, Axel."

"And you're a bitch."

"How many times are you going to call me that?"

"Until it gets through your thick skull."

"Well, when is it gonna get through your thick head that you can't escape your past?"

"Stop trying to be a voice of wisdom; you sound like a frigging idiot."

"Why? Because I'm right? Ugh, you always do this, Axel. You always ignore people when they're right because you never want to be wrong. When are you going to shut up and realise that you're the frigging moron around here?"

"Shut up," he mumbled.

"See? I know you better than you think, Axel."

"You don't know anything about me, Bishop."

"Oh, but I do."

"All right, I am going to hang up now and you are never going to call me again."

"That's not gonna happen."

"Fine. I'll just ignore you calls, then."

"You can't do that forever."

"Larxene, get over me. Go fuck some random guy you picked up off the street. I mean, that's something you're actually good at."

"Wow, you're an even bigger douche than I remember."

"It's best you keep that fresh in your mind. Maybe it'll prevent you from calling me ever again."

"Wait! One more thing."

"What?"

"Tell me you still love me."

"Fuck no," he denied. "I've found someone else and it's time you do the same. Though, I feel sorry for the poor bastard that ends up with you. Good fucking bye!" He hung up the phone heatedly. Then he sighed yet again. "I've met someone else," he repeated to himself. "Who the hell did I meet?" he asked himself. "Ugh, what am I talking about? I know exactly who…"

And his thoughts wandered to a certain pair of ocean blue eyes.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Avoiding Problems

Axel didn't attend homeroom the next morning. He wanted to avoid Marluxia at all costs. And since he had Vexen first period, he ended up skipping that class, too.

Finally, second period rolled around. When he got to the classroom, Roxas, Kairi, and Pence were already there.

"Hey, where were you during homeroom?" the blonde asked right away.

"Honestly, I just couldn't face Marluxia after walking out yesterday."

"Don't you have him fourth period?" Kairi recalled.

"Yup."

"So…what? Are you gonna skip that period, too?" Pence guessed.

"No, he's not," Roxas answered in denial. "I won't let him. C'mon, I already told you that Marly isn't mad."

Axel sighed. "Doesn't change the fact that I feel—"

Then Luxord walked over to them. "Xemnas wants you down in his office right now, Mr. Rizure," he informed the redhead. "Something about whatever the hell happened yesterday." He walked away.

"Shit," Axel muttered. "All right. I guess I'll see you guys later." He got up and left, making his way to the office at a swift pace. Once he arrived though, he slowly made his way through the door. "You wanted to see me?" he announced his presence since Xemnas was looking out the window behind his desk.

"Take a seat, Mr. Rizure," Xemnas said back. The redhead sat down as the principal turned to face him. "So you walked out of school yesterday?" he began. Axel only nodded in response. "And you skipped homeroom and first period today?" He nodded again. Xemnas sat down behind his desk now. "Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Shit happens and some shit happened to me."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"I don't really want to."

"I see…" he trailed off, sighing. "Well, don't expect to get away with skipping fourth period and end of the day homeroom."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

He sighed. "I won't skip any more periods, sir."

"Good."

He paused. "Is that all?"

"No. I want to talk to you about one more thing." He stood up, moving around to the front of his desk and leaning on it. "Don't let Saïx infuriate you," he stated. "The other students may think that he 'rules the school,' but that's not true. I'm the one in charge here. So just…don't let him influence you or provoke you or anything of the sort."

"I would never."

"Very good."

"Is that all now?"

"Yes, you may go now. And please return to your class."

He laughed a little. "I will." He left and made his way back to his second period. When he entered the classroom, he saw that Luxord was now passed out at his desk. Chuckling, he took his seat back with the others.

"What was that about?" Pence asked.

"It was about yesterday."

"And what exactly happened yesterday?" Kairi wondered.

"I walked out of my fourth period class towards the end of it."

"And then he proceeded to walk out of school," Roxas added. "Oh, did Marly bust you for smoking?"

"Nope."

"You smoke?" Kairi replied. "Ew. Why?"

Axel laughed. "It relaxes me."

"How is smoking relaxing?" Pence questioned. "I mean, if you wanna relax then why don't you meditate or take a bath or something?" he suggested.

"Don't worry, I took his privileges away for the month," Roxas told them, smiling triumphantly.

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

The blonde laughed. "Oh, you'll thank me someday."

"Sure I will." Axel ruffled Roxas's hair like he had done before.

This caused the blush. "I hate you."

"Awe, that's cute," Kairi said, giggling. "You two really would make such a good couple."

Roxas blushed again. "Shut up. He's straight."

"They know that," Axel replied. "They're just joking, Roxy."

"Roxy?" Pence repeated. "You hate it when people call you that." He then smirked. "Well, Axel, you must be different."

Roxas kept blushing deeper and deeper and he was now avoiding Axel's forest green eyes. Then the bell finally rang and Roxas jumped out of the seat and rushed out of the room.

"What's his problem?" Pence wondered.

"I think we may have gone a little too far," Kairi thought aloud.

"Just a little bit," Axel confirmed. He then left, making his way to his third period.

When he entered the boy's locker room, Sora almost instantly walked up to him. "What's wrong with Roxas?" he asked.

"Kairi and Pence went a little too far with their teasing last period."

"Pence I understand," Riku replied, joining them. "He gets that moronic behaviour from Hayner. But Kairi?"

He shrugged. "They didn't mean to."

"Well, obviously not, but still…" Riku trailed off.

"Where is he anyway?"

"He's already changed and out," Sora answered.

"Did he even say anything to either of you?"

"Not a word," Sora denied.

He sighed. "All right. Well, let's get changed so we can get out there with him."

They did as the redhead said and changed and made their way out into the gym. Roxas was standing alone, fiddling his thumbs. The three of them joined him.

"Hey Roxy," Axel spoke up. "You certainly rushed to get out of Luxord's class."

"Don't call me that," he said back sternly.

"Are you okay?" Sora checked.

"I'm just dandy." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"You don't sound it," Riku denied.

"On second thought, I'm feeling kinda sick," Roxas said. He got up and walked over to Xigbar. A few words were exchanged and the blonde left.

Axel sighed. "Shit."

"Seriously, what happened?" Sora wondered.

"Nothing," he lied.

"Mr. Rizure!" Xigbar then called over to him.

"Be right back." He walked up to the half blind teacher. "Yeah?"

"What's wrong with Mr. Hampton?"

He couldn't help but feel a little aggravated. "Damn it, why does everyone always ask me about him?"

"Because you seem to be the one who spends the most time with him, as of lately," he pointed out.

"True enough," he admitted. "Well, I'm not entirely sure what's wrong this time around."

He nodded. "Very well, then."

The rest of third period was slow despite the designed course that day. Roxas didn't return until towards the end of class and even then he didn't say much. Then he and Axel made their way to their fourth period. Naminé and Hayner were both already there. They sat down with them.

"Wow, you actually showed up," Hayner said.

"I promised Xemnas I wouldn't skip anymore classes."

"Good," Naminé stated shortly. She glanced over at Roxas, who was looking towards the ground. A look of concern swept over her face. "Hey Roxas, are you feeling okay?"

"What?" he spoke up. "Oh…yeah. I-I'm fine."

The bell rang. Marluxia stood in front of the class. "Good morning everyone," he greeted them. "First things first, I want to pass out your grades for the project," he said, and then began to do so.

"I got an A," Naminé said with a smile.

"Of course you did," Hayner muttered.

"What did you get?" she asked him. "Oh wait, you didn't do it."

He sneered at her. "Shut up."

"I got a B+," Roxas announced. "That's probably because I may have half-assed some of my answers. It was just so late when I did them and I had been practically falling asleep as I wrote my explanations."

"Nothing wrong with that," Naminé said with a short giggle. "Good job, either way, Rox." She turned to the redhead. "What did you get, Axel?"

"I got an A+," he answered. "How?"

"You already knew that," the blonde reminded him.

"Still…" He looked to Marluxia, who was back behind his desk by this point. "Be right back." He walked up to the desk. "Mar?"

"Yes, Mr. Rizure?"

"Why did you give me a one hundred on the project? I mean, I walked out during the class. During my presentation, better yet."

"I'm well aware of that. You had pretty much just finished presenting, though. And that let me know that the songs you chose actually have an effect on you."

"But—"

"Mr. Rizure, you are very creative. And just walking out of my class isn't going to give you a failing grade." He sighed. "I know you have your difficulties, Axel, and that you're trying your best to deal with them on your own, but just remember that you do also have friends who care about you."

He nodded. "I guess I should thank you, then."

"You don't have to thank me," he denied. "But don't think that you can continue to skip homeroom."

"I know. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled.

Axel returned to his seat. "He really does like me."

"Told you so," Roxas mumbled.

"You're lucky," Hayner told him. "All the teachers hate me, especially Lexaeus."

"Lexaeus only hates the students that talk in his library," Naminé pointed out.

"Yeah. Do you know how hard it is for me not to talk for a whole period?"

She laughed. "Of course."

As the class went on, Axel continued to watch Roxas. The blonde was looking down at his desk, obviously not paying attention. Not that he was, either. But all of a sudden, Axel felt worried. He felt the need to comfort his new friend, but he didn't know how to do so. The redhead sighed, looking away from the blue eyed boy. He would talk to him during the next period.

So after what seemed like hours, the bell rang. Axel and Roxas got up and made their way to their fifth period. They entered the library, each getting a simple nod from Lexaeus. They sat down and Axel pulled out his notebook to write to Roxas:

 _What happened?_

Roxas quickly read the note and replied:

 _You should know; you were there._

Axel sighed at this:

 _Why is it bothering you so much, then?_

Roxas shrugged his shoulders:

 _It doesn't matter._

Axel shook his head:

 _Of course it matters._

Now Roxas shook his head in return:

 _Just drop it._

Axel sighed again:

 _Roxas, please—_

The blonde took the paper from the redhead before he could finish:

 _No. Just drop it. Also, I don't think it's a very good idea anymore for you to stay with me at my place during winter break._

Axel was surprised by this. Hurt, almost:

 _What? Why not?_

This time, Roxas let out a sigh:

 _I just don't want any of the others to get the wrong idea…_

Axel swiped the paper back almost heatedly:

 _The others aren't going to think anything of it. Seriously Roxas, they won't care. They all know that we're just good friends._

Roxas shook his head:

 _But I'm just not sure—_

Now Axel took the paper from Roxas before he could finish:

 _If you don't want me to stay simply because you don't want me there, then just tell me that flat out._

Roxas looked distressed at this point:

 _No. It's not like that._

Now Axel was definitely angry:

 _Then what the fuck is the problem?_

Roxas thought for a moment before sighing again and replying:

 _I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little…I don't know. But you can do whatever you want._

Once again, Axel also sighed, trying to calm himself down by imagining Roxas's soothing voice:

 _I will stay with you during winter break because the others really won't care. And I want to be able to keep you company._

Roxas nodded in reply:

 _Okay._

Axel calmed down:

 _Are you better now?_

Roxas shrugged again:

 _For the most part._

Axel nodded as well:

 _Okay._

And that was the end of it; the conversation finished there. But Axel couldn't help but continue to feel that Roxas was still upset about something. He knew there wasn't much else he could do, though. And he hated that.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Consideration

When Axel, Demyx, and Zexion returned home from school that day, the couple almost instantly asked the redhead about the blonde's attitude. They hadn't even given him the chance to relax.

"So what exactly happened with Roxas today?" Zexion questioned. "He seemed so out of it and depressed."

Axel sighed. "It was nothing."

"Based on what Xion told me," Demyx began, "I think it's because he likes you, but he knows he can never have you," he finished. "Unless, that is, you're not straight after all."

"Based on my bullshit meter, I think you're lying. I mean, seriously, Demyx, stop saying that," Axel replied. "It's really beginning to get on my nerves."

"But how do you know if you've never really tested it?"

"Because I think I would've figured it out by now."

"C'mon Axel—"

"How many times do I have to tell you to let it go?" Zexion interrupted.

Demyx sighed now. "Fine. I'll drop it."

"Thank you!" Axel exclaimed.

"So how was your class with Marluxia?" Zexion changed the subject.

"It was fine," Axel answered. "It seems he still favours me."

"Good," Demyx said. "We need a teacher on our side."

"I think Xemnas might be on our side, too," Axel told them.

"Even better."

Zexion shook his head at the two of them. "You and Saïx shouldn't be competing like this."

"We're not competing," Axel denied.

"Yes, you are. There shouldn't be any sides or whatever. It's not healthy." He paused. "Do you even care, Axel?"

"Care about what?"

"Do you even care that you and Saïx used to be on the same side? That you two used to be best friends? Do you even care about the fact that his parents practically raised you as their own?"

"Wow, why are you throwing that in my face?"

"He's not throwing it—" Demyx started.

"He kind of is," Axel cut him off. "And to answer your question, Zexion, I can't say I do care. That was all a long time ago. So many things have changed since then and there's no way things are changing back to normal now."

"How do you know that?" Zexion asked.

"I'd have to say it's pretty damn obvious."

He shook his head. "Fine. Think whatever the hell you want."

"You know, it sounds like you're actually trying to defend Saïx right now," Axel pointed out.

"I'm not. I'd just rather you two be friends again than stay enemies."

"Why? Because it would make things easier on you two? Well, I'm sorry I'm such a burden."

"Don't even go there," Demyx cut back in.

"Whatever." He started walking away.

"You're not a burden, Axel!" Zexion called after him. "We just don't want you to get into any trouble."

The redhead. "I'm not gonna get into trouble. I haven't yet, right?"

"You almost did last week," Demyx reminded him. "And it's still only the beginning of the year."

"Great. So you two really don't trust me?"

"Please, you know that's not true," Zexion denied. "Of course we trust you. We're just concerned. How many times do we have to tell you that?"

"And how many times do I have to tell you two that you have no need to worry about me?"

"We're your best friends! Why wouldn't we worry about you?"

"Axel, even you have admitted that you still have trouble controlling yourself at times," Demyx then pointed out.

"But even you have to admit now that I've been doing a damn good job."

"Yeah, because of Roxas," Zexion declared. "He really helps keep you calm."

"That's because he can actually tolerate me!"

"We tolerate you!" Demyx yelled back. "We've always tolerated you!"

"Always?" Axel repeated. "You two left once I was sent to juvy and I didn't have any problems before that."

Zexion sighed. "Let's just end this now. I really don't want to be in a fight with you, Axel."

"Because you know I'm right."

"Stop it, Ax," Demyx replied. "Zexion is right."

"Of course he is. I'm never right, am I?"

"C'mon Axel, what's the problem?" Demyx asked. "It feels like you almost want to be mad at us."

"Oh really? Because I was thinking that you two want me to be mad at you."

"Now you're just being ridiculous," Zexion told him. "Why would we want that?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"Axel, you're our best friend," Demyx reiterated. "Despite everything that has happened, you are our best friend. Nothing will ever change that."

The redhead sighed once more, falling onto the couch. "I'm sorry. I mean, you guys are totally right; I can't always control my temper. But Roxas does help make it easier. I don't know why, but he just…" he sighed, trailing off. "There's something about him."

"Axel, can I please just ask you this as a serious question without you flipping out at me?" Demyx wondered.

"What?"

"Could you possibly fall for Roxas?"

"Demyx!" Zexion exclaimed. "What did I tell you?"

"No, no, it's okay, Zex," Axel replied. He turned back to Demyx. "Honestly, I have no idea at this point. I guess there is a chance that it could happen. It's just complicated and confusing for me."

"As it should be," Demyx declared. "But maybe you should give Roxas a chance. He would definitely be good for you. He already is."

"I'm not sure if he would want me to."

"You're kidding, right?" Zexion cut back in. "That boy would absolutely love to have a chance with you."

"Don't tell him we said that," Demyx added.

Axel chuckled. "I just don't know. I think I'm gonna wait a little while to see what happens."

"How about winter break?" he then suggested.

"What about it?"

"Aren't you staying with Roxas that week since Riku and Sora are going to be away?"

"Yeah…?"

"Make a move on him some time during break," Zexion told him. "From now till then is plenty of time to figure out how you feel, after all."

Axel shrugged. "I guess that's true."

"It's settled, then," Demyx confirmed.

"No, nothing is settled yet," Axel denied, shaking his head. "I can't just plan to make a move on him; it doesn't work like that. Plus, a lot could change in the next month or so," he pointed out.

In the back of his mind, though, he was hoping nothing would change. And if something did, he hoped it would, for once, be a change for the better.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Between the Lines

The first snowfall of the winter season came a few weekends later. They got about five inches, but it was nothing too bad. But it was enough for Axel to admire during his walk to Roxas's place. Though the city he came from was only a couple states away, the city still didn't see much snowfall. So it was something he wasn't exactly used to.

"Hey Axel!" Sora then yelled to him.

He turned to see the brunette and his silver-haired boyfriend coming towards him.

He smiled. "Hey guys."

"Where are you heading?" Riku asked.

"Your place, actually." He paused. "Roxas is there, right?"

"Oh yeah, he's there," Sora confirmed.

"Roxas really hates the snow, so if he tends to stay out of it at all costs if he can," Riku explained to the redhead.

Axel laughed at this. "Of course he does."

"Well, we gotta get going," Sora said.

"We'll be with Kairi and Naminé if you need us for any reason," Riku added.

"What about Olette and Xion?"

"Oh, they're with Hayner and Pence," Sora informed him.

Axel nodded. "All right."

The three then said goodbye and continued on their separate ways. And not too long after, Axel came across Saïx and Seifer. And unfortunately for the redhead, they spotted him as well.

"Hey, look who it is," Seifer exclaimed. "Our most favourite person in the whole wide world."

"What the hell do you two want?"

"We don't want that attitude," Saïx replied. "That's for sure."

Seifer snickered. "C'mon, let's kick his scrawny ass."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Is that a challenge?" Saïx questioned, smirking.

Axel shook his head. "Don't test me, Saïx."

He glared at the redhead. "I guess I shouldn't. You did fail the last test after all."

"Yeah, but you cheated."

He smirked again. "Oh, cheating is such a dirty word. I prefer to say that I…used an advantage."

"Or took advantage."

The glare returned then. "You think you're all that, don't you?"

"Not really, no." He started to walk away.

"Don't worry, Saïx," Seifer said loudly, "he's just totally jealous of you!"

Axel rolled his eyes at them and continued to walk away. And when he reached Roxas's place, he didn't even bother to knock; he just let himself right in.

"Hey Roxas!" he announced his presence.

"I'm in the living room!" he called back.

The redhead made his way to the living room. The blonde was sitting on the couch, watching a movie. The redhead plopped down beside him.

"What movie are we watching?"

" _Brokeback Mountain_ ," he answered.

He laughed. "Zexion hates this movie."

"Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of it either."

"Then why are you watching it?"

He shrugged. "It's a movie about gay cowboys." He looked over at Axel. "How could I resist?"

He laughed even more at this comment. "You're too funny, Roxy."

"Can you please not call me that?"

"I always call you that, though."

"Well, stop."

He grabbed the remote so he could pause the movie. "Why? You never had a problem with it before."

"I know, but—"

"But what? What's the problem this time?"

"I just don't want you calling me that."

"Because you don't allow the others to call you that, right?" he figured. And when Roxas didn't reply, he let out a short sigh. "C'mon, it's no big deal, Roxy." The blonde cringed a little at the nickname. "Like I keep saying, the others don't care." The redhead then wrapped his arm around his shoulders, pulling him in a little closer. Roxas didn't resist. He never seemed to resist Axel's touch or warmth or…anything. He preferred that nonresistance, though.

"Axel?" Roxas spoke up.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Why do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"This," he said. "Why do you hold me and comfort me and—"

"You can always stop me, Roxas," he cut him off. "You can push me away or hit me or whatever. We've talked about this before."

"But…you know I won't. You know I—" he swallowed hard, "—I don't want to." He hesitantly turned his gaze up to Axel.

Once again, green eyes locked with blue eyes. Except this time, Roxas didn't allow the moment to last.

"And then that happens," he added to what he had been saying before.

Axel sighed, taking his arm back and allowing Roxas to move away from him, even though the redhead didn't want that.

"Honestly, this is another reason why I feel like you shouldn't stay with me during break anymore," he admitted. He paused. "Can you please say something, Axel?"

"If you don't want me to stay with you during break, then just tell me," he finally spoke up. "I thought we talked about this already, too."

"We did. And I mentioned how the others—"

"I really don't think it's the others you're actually worried about, Roxas."

He sighed. "Do you want to stay here with me during break?"

"Honestly, yes, I do want to. But I only will if you feel comfortable with me being here. Otherwise I'll stay home and just stop by everyday or something."

He thought long and hard. "Okay."

"Okay what?"

He finally broke into a smile. "You can stay here with me."

The redhead returned the smile, at the same time being careful not to show his relief. "Great." He ruffled that blonde, spiky hair.

Roxas blushed…as usual. "Do you always have to do that?"

"But of course," Axel replied. He resumed the movie before getting up and moving to the connecting kitchen. He began to scavenge through it until he found what he was looking for. "Jackpot." He pulled his pack out of one of the drawers.

"Hey, it hasn't been a month yet," Roxas pointed out.

"Close enough," he said. He put the pack to his nose and took in the deathly sweet aroma. "I've felt as if I was gonna die."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "You're so overdramatic."

"Am not," he denied.

"Those cancer sticks are a waste of money, you know."

"Oh well."

"No smoking during break while you stay here, by the way."

"Uh-huh, whatever," the redhead replied, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. "So good…"

Roxas laughed a little. "How can you say that?" The redhead only shrugged, sitting back down on the couch. "You're not even supposed to smoke those in here. Sora and Riku don't like it."

"I won't tell if you don't."

"You're ridiculous, Axel."

The two of them then fell silent and finished watching the movie. When it ended, Roxas stood up and went to remove the DVD from the player. But Axel continued to gape at the now blank TV screen.

"Now I understand why Zexion dislikes this movie so much," he spoke up.

"Yeah, Riku hates it, too. Pretty sure Sora and Demyx are the only two who enjoy it…somehow."

"How can you sit down and watch that?"

"You just did."

"Not all of it, though."

"But you caught most of it."

"I was too frigging dumbstruck to move, then."

He laughed, changing the TV back to regular channels. "It's not that bad of a movie," he denied, sitting back down on the couch.

"It was stupid," he declared.

"It was romantic. They risked everything to be together. I mean, I know you're not gay, but you can still relate it to any relationship. I mean, wouldn't you risk everything to be with the one you love?"

"Well, I've never been in love—"

"So what? That's not what I'm asking so that's beside the point. I'm asking you if you would risk everything to be with the one you love."

He sighed. "Oh, I don't know." He turned his gaze and it met with those brilliant blue eyes. "I guess, hypothetically speaking, if he was someone I really did love then it wouldn't be much of a risk at all."

"He?" Roxas repeated.

"What? Oh, yeah, I meant if _she_ was someone I really loved," he then corrected himself, even though that wasn't what he had meant in the first place.

He nodded before smiling at his answer. "See? You don't need the experience of love to answer a question like that."

"Guess not…"

Love. Just like how he loved those blue eyes and that spiky blonde hair and that voice that could soothe him to serenity. But did he just love those aspects, or did he love the whole package?


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Power Outage

"Do you wanna watch another movie?" Roxas asked once they finished discussing the previous movie.

"I don't see why not," Axel replied.

"Okay. What movie, then?"

"You decide."

"I chose the last movie."

"I wasn't here when you chose it."

"So?"

"So…who cares? Just surprise me."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Positive."

"Very well, then. A chick flick it is."

Axel groaned. "Damn it."

"Hey, no complaining," Roxas replied. "Now, let's see what we have here… _27 Dresses_ , _Ever After_ , _In Her Shoes_ , or… _P.S. I Love You_?"

"None of them."

"C'mon Ax, you gotta choose one."

"I refuse."

"Fine. Then it looks like you're spending the night here and we're watching all four."

"Shit! No!"

"Too late."

"Wow, Rox, you're kind of an ass."

He only laughed at this. Then his phone rang. He picked it up. "Hey Sora."

"Hey Rox, have you and Axel seen the weather channel?"

"We have not. Why?"

"There's going to be a huge ass blizzard. So make sure Axel stays there. Riku and I are gonna be staying with Kairi and Naminé, and then Xion and Olette are staying with Hayner and Pence."

"All right. And Zexion and Demyx are obviously just at their own place, right?"

"Correct."

"Good."

"Just make sure Axel touches base with either Dem or Zex."

"Will do. Thanks for the warning."

"No problem."

He hung up. "Well, looks like you really are stuck here for the night."

"Why? What did Sora say?"

"Apparently we're getting a 'huge ass blizzard,' as he put it."

"Really?" he asked excitedly.

"You actually like snow?"

"This is the first time I've seen it. Or this much of it, at least."

"That makes sense, then," he said. "You should call Demyx or Zexion. Let them know you're taking cover here for the night."

"Looks like I was beat to it," Axel replied when his phone went off. He picked it up. "Hey Zex."

"You and Roxas have heard about the storm, right?"

"Yeah, Sora just informed us about it."

"Okay, good. So you're still at his place?"

"I am indeed."

"Stay there for the night, Axel." It was more of an order than it was a suggestion.

"I was planning on it."

"Good."

"Anything else?"

"Call us if you lose power."

"So long as you do the same."

"That's the plan."

"Very well, then."

"And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Please behave."

He paused, swallowing hard. "Of course, Zex."

"Good. I'll talk to you later, Axel."

"Bye." He hung up. "Okay. Now, what movie are we watching first out of those four?"

"We're gonna start with _27 Dresses_ because it's probably my least favourite of the four," Roxas decided.

Axel laughed. "All right. Sounds good."

The blonde popped the movie into the DVD player and pressed play. But before he sat down he asked, "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"No, I'm all set for right now."

"Okay. Feel free to help yourself to the kitchen if you do get hungry."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

He chuckled as he returned to his seat on the couch. The two made themselves comfortable, but they remained a good distance away from each other. But the redhead couldn't help but sneak a peek at the blonde every so often. Roxas didn't seem to notice those stolen glances, though.

"That was another bad movie," Axel declared once the movie ended.

"Yeah, it's pretty stupid," Roxas replied. "Ugh."

"What?"

"It seems the blizzard has begun," he pointed out.

Axel turned his gaze towards the window. Outside the snow was coming down hard. He could barely even see out the window.

"Wow," he breathed.

"Trust me, it gets real old real fast," he told him. "So we're gonna watch _In Her Shoes_ next."

"Whatever."

"Don't worry, this one is a bit more interesting." He put the movie in the DVD player.

"I guess I'll have to take your word on that one," he said. "By the way, I'm kinda hungry now."

"Me too," he agreed. He stood up as the previews and trailers started. "What would you like?"

"What do you have?"

For a moment, Roxas just stood there, staring blankly at Axel. "Popcorn it is," he spoke up. "And for a drink?"

"Soda."

"All right." He went to the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later with a bowl of popcorn and two cans of Mountain Dew as the actual movie began. "Here you go." He handed Axel one of the cans. "And this can stay here." He placed the bowl between the two of them.

And so the new movie started and they were silent, except for the crunch of the popcorn and the hiss of the soda when the cans were first opened. And everything was perfectly fine until _it_ happened; they both reached their hands into the popcorn bowl at the same time and they touched. Roxas's hand retreated rapidly, but Axel's hand lingered. He had practically been waiting for that moment. And he had to admit, the touch felt nice.

"Sorry," Roxas mumbled.

"What are you sorry for?" Axel questioned.

He shrugged. And that was the end of it. Neither of them said anything more after that instant. Instead, they just continued to view the movie in silence, but the blonde stopped reaching for the popcorn.

Finally, the movie was over.

"Shit, that was hella inappropriate," Axel declared. "I'm surprised you like that movie at all."

"Well, you're probably gonna hate the next one," Roxas assumed.

"Which one's next?"

" _P.S. I Love You_."

"And why am I going to hate it?"

"Oh, you'll see." He popped the movie into the player. As the previews showed, he brought the empty popcorn bowl back to the kitchen before returning to his seat on the couch. "Have you seen any of these before?"

"Definitely not."

"I figured as much."

The movie began. And only about a half hour into it, Axel hated it. He really hated it. Then about an hour into it, they lost power. The room was very dark for it being only seven o'clock in the evening as well.

"I'm actually glad we just lost power," Axel spoke up. "Are chick flicks supposed to be so depressing like that?"

Roxas shrugged. "Some of them are."

"Well, that one was just majorly depressing."

"It's still a good movie." He then got to his feet. "Come help me find a flashlight so we can light a few candles."

"All right." He also stood up.

The two carefully made their way into the kitchen. Roxas managed to find a flashlight, and then with that he found and took out a couple candles, along with a box of matches. Axel took the matches and lit the candles. They left one in the kitchen and brought two others back into the living room. Then Roxas looked out the window before pulling the shade down.

"You can't see anything out there," he told Axel. "The snow is way too heavy."

"Are blizzards common here?"

"Well, we get the occasional snowstorm, but they're usually never as bad as this one is. I mean, the power's never gone out before. And if it has, then I don't remember."

"That's odd," he replied. "I guess this place was just overdue for an outage, then."

Roxas joined Axel on the couch. "I guess so." He shivered. "It's already freezing in here."

"You don't have a fireplace?"

"I'm afraid not. The candles are the closest we can get to a warm fire."

"Damn." He sighed. "Well, what do you want to do now?"

"Honestly, I think I just wanna try to get to sleep. That way I don't have to think about the cold."

"That actually sounds like a pretty good idea."

"All right." Roxas grabbed a few extra blankets from a closet in the living room. "You can sleep on the couch. I'll sleep on the floor."

"No, Rox—"

"When I stayed at your place, you gave me the couch. Now you're at my place, so I'm giving you the couch."

"Fine." He took one of the blankets and made himself comfortable. But before he could fall asleep, he heard teeth chattering from below him. He looked to the floor to see the small blonde boy practically trembling from the cold. "Roxas, you're freezing."

"I'm f-fine."

"No you're not. Come here."

"D-don't worry about—"

"Roxas, I am not going to let you freeze down there. Now, come here."

Finally, the blonde obeyed. He shakily sat up and crawled under the blanket beside the redhead. Axel draped his arm around Roxas's waist, making sure to keep his cold body encased in his own body's warmth.

"How can you be so cold?" Axel wondered.

Roxas shrugged a little. "I'm n-not really s-sure."

Sighing, he pulled the young teen closer into him. It was another moment when the blonde didn't resist; he was too cold to resist this time around. Then he finally stopped shivering. And when he did, the redhead was able to fall asleep with a content smile.


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Snowed In

The next morning, Axel awoke to the vibration of his cell phone. He was quick to pick it up, though he fumbled with it a bit. "Hello?" he answered the call. He spoke softly, as to not wake the still sleeping body beside him.

"Axel?" Demyx replied. "How are you and Roxas?"

"We're both fine. We lost power last night, though."

"So did everyone else. Do you have it back yet?"

"It doesn't seem like it."

"Well, you should get it back soon. Where's Roxas?"

"He's sleeping next to me. And I was still sleeping, too."

"Sorry. But what did you two do last night?"

"Roxas gave me no choice but to watch chick flicks until the power went out, relieving me of the torture."

Laughter came from the other side of the phone. "You watched a chick flick?" he exclaimed.

"We actually got through two and a half. Halfway through the third one was when we lost power. And we had a fourth lined up."

More laughter. "I seriously have to give Roxas my props."

"Shut up." The body beside him stirred. "I have to go, Dem. I'll call you later."

"One more thing."

"What?"

"Don't try to leave."

He paused for a moment. "I won't." He then hung up.

He looked back down at the sleeping blonde; he looked so peaceful while he slept. He brushed a few strands of that dirty blonde hair out of Roxas's face, causing him to stir again.

His ocean blue eyes fluttered open. "Axel?"

He smiled. "Good morning, Roxy." He carefully stepped off the couch, still not wanting to disturb the other. "Shit. We left the candles burning all night," he realised. He took the candles in the living room back into the kitchen and put all three of them out. "Were you cold last night?" he then asked Roxas as he returned to the living room.

"No," he answered, still a bit groggy.

"Good."

"But I would've been fine on the floor."

"You would've frozen to death on the floor."

He sighed. Then his phone rang and he picked it up. "Hey Xion."

"Hey Rox," she replied. "Demyx told me that he already talked to Axel, but I still wanted to call to check up on you two."

"Of course you did."

"So you two are okay?"

"We're fine." He paused as the TV flashed on. "And it seems we just got power back."

"Great! Don't try to leave, though. Not that you can; we're all snowed in."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that we probably won't have school for a couple days."

"Really? Nice!"

She laughed. "Okay. I gotta get going now. Just be sure to keep in touch with all of us."

"We will."

"Bye Roxas."

"Bye." He hung up. "We're snowed in and won't have school for the next couple of days, apparently," he informed Axel.

"Sweet."

"We're gonna get calls from the teachers soon," he then figured.

"Huh?"

"Our homeroom teachers are given our cell numbers for incidents such as this. So we're most likely gonna get calls from them soon."

"Wait, why?"

"The school is kinda obligated to make sure their students are safe during times like these."

"Even outside of school?"

"That's right."

"Well, that's interesting."

Roxas chuckled. "I guess it's kinda weird."

"No. It's not that it's weird," Axel denied. "It's just…different."

"Yeah, well," he shrugged, "that's just how our district is. Plus, a majority of the students don't live with their parents since it's…well…it's one of those schools."

"One of those schools?"

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

Now he chuckled a bit. "Right, of course I do." His phone then went off, but the number was unknown. "Oh, this is probably Mar now." He picked up. "Hello?"

"Mr. Rizure? It's Marluxia."

"Hey Mar."

"Good morning, Axel. Now, I know you're new to this school, but—"

"Roxas literally just got done explaining it to me."

"Oh, perfect. So are you with him right now?"

"Yeah. I've been at his place since last night."

"What about the others?"

"Demyx and Zexion are at our place. Hayner and Pence are at their place, along with Xion and Olette. Then Riku and Sora are with Kairi and Naminé at their place."

"All right."

"Is there anything else you need to know?"

"As a matter of fact…yes. I'm not sure if you're the right person to ask, but I'm not sure who else to ask."

"Oh? Well, what's up?"

"Have you seen Saïx around? I can't get a hold of him on his cell, and then Luxord can't get a hold of Seifer."

"The last time I saw the two of them was on my way to Roxas's place yesterday afternoon."

"That was in the afternoon?"

"Yeah."

He sighed. "Oh no…"

"I'm sure they're both fine."

"I hope so."

"Knowing Saïx, he probably just thinks he's too cool to answer a call from his teacher."

"You know, you could be right."

"Exactly."

"But what if his cell phone isn't on him? Or what if he's hurt? Or what if they're caved in somewhere? Or what if—?"

"Mar!" he stopped him. "Just relax and try calling him again."

"All right. And I'm technically not supposed to do this, but since you're with Roxas I'm not gonna bother calling him as well. Oh! You two have power back, right?"

"Yes, we just got it back."

"Good. Also, as of right now, school is canceled for the week."

"The whole week?"

"I know that seems like a bit much, but the snow is actually a pretty big problem right now. We hadn't been expecting this much of it, after all."

"All right."

"Okay. Well, I must get going now. But I'll call again if I get anymore news."

"Thanks." He hung up.

"What's going on?" Roxas wondered.

"School's been canceled for the whole week."

"Awesome!" He paused. "Why did you mention Saïx?"

"Mar's just sorta freaking out because he can't reach him. I don't think it's a very big deal, though."

"Oh. Okay." He paused. "I can't believe school is out for the entire week. And only another month left before our two week long winter break."

"No kidding." He thought for a moment. "Hey, I'll be right back." Axel then left for the bathroom. He pulled out his cell and dialed a number that was no longer in his contacts, but he still had it memorised.

The phone rang seven times before it was finally answered. "Why the hell are you calling me?" Saïx questioned.

"Oh, so is my number still in your contacts or do you just have it memorised, too?" he asked in reply.

"Whatever. What do you want?"

"You wouldn't answer Marluxia's calls, so I figured I'd give it a try. Though, I am surprised you bothered picking up for me."

"Is there a point to this?"

"You have Mar worried," he went on. "But either way, school is canceled for the week, as of right now."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"What? You're not gonna ask where I am? Because I'm with Seifer at his place if you care."

"I don't care."

"Fine, then."

"Bye Saïx." He hung up with a sigh. But he actually felt a twinge of relief.

"Are you hungry?" Roxas asked from the kitchen once Axel had returned to the living room.

"Nah, I'm all set for right now."

"Are you sure? I mean, you barely even ate last night."

"Don't worry about me, Rox."

"Axel, you need to eat something."

He laughed a bit. "Seriously, Rox, I'm fine."

He sighed now. "Fine. Starve yourself."

"Ugh," he replied under his breath, rolling his eyes. He stood up from the couch. "What do you have?"

Roxas smiled at this. "We have cereal in this cabinet above me. Then we have waffles in the freezer and pancake mix—"

"I'll stick with cereal," he cut him off. "It's the easiest option."

"Just help yourself, then."

"Is the milk still gonna be good after not having power all night?"

"I'm sure it was cold enough for the milk to last."

"Touché."

Axel moved into the kitchen. He reached over Roxas—who was preparing his own waffle breakfast—to open the cereal cabinet. This closeness caused the blonde to blush. The redhead noticed this and smiled softly. He then took out the box of cereal he had chosen and placed it on the counter. He had both hands resting on the counter on either side of the body in front of him. Roxas had stiffened by this point, for he had nowhere to go and no escape; Axel's body was practically right up against his.

"A-Axel," he stuttered, almost inaudibly. "Wh-what are you—?" He couldn't finish the question; his breath had caught in his throat.

The redhead removed his hands from the counter and wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist. "Roxas…" he whispered into his ear.

Roxas shivered, his mind nearly going blank. But he quickly regained his senses and shoved the redhead away from him. At first, Axel looked surprised and almost hurt. But he shook that look away as Roxas turned to face him.

"S-see? That's all you gotta do," Axel spoke up.

"What the hell do you think you were you doing?" Roxas asked in reply, actually seeming to be angry.

"I-I—"

"This is exactly what I mean, Axel!" he went on. "You keep putting us in these awkward situations! And it's not fair to me! It's actually really shitty! You just need to make up your fucking mind already!"

He didn't know how to reply. Roxas had never yelled at him like this before. But now he had every reason, too. He was right, after all. For whatever reason, though, Axel just couldn't help himself.

Why? Why was he acting like this all of a sudden? He wanted to know just as much as Roxas did.

Then again, Axel did know; he just didn't want to admit it.

"Maybe I was wrong!" the redhead shouted back, finally rediscovering his voice.

The blonde was taken aback by this. "Excuse me?"

"Maybe I was wrong," he repeated more calmly.

"Wrong about what?"

He hesitated, not wanting to say the wrong thing. "Myself."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm confused because there's something about you and—"

"No," he cut him off. "No, you can't do this to me!"

"I'm not doing this on purpose, Roxas! I'm sorry! But it's not my fault!"

"Axel…" he trailed off.

"I need time to figure this shit out," he admitted. "Just…please…don't count me out quite yet."

They fell silent. Axel was looking to the floor and Roxas was looking directly at him. He couldn't meet his eyes, though. He was too afraid of what he might find in them. Or what those eyes might discover in his own.

"Okay," the blonde said at last. "Just stop doing shit like that until you figure out how you feel."

"I really am sorry, Rox," the redhead replied. "Like I've said before, there really is just something…different about you."

"A good different?"

"A great different. The kind of different I need in my life."

"Just don't…lead me on."

"If I do it wouldn't at all be intentional. So if you feel like I am, let me know right away."

He nodded. "Also…please don't get my hopes up for nothing."

"Of course not. I wanna do whatever it takes to make sure we remain friends no matter what."

"Friends?" he repeated. Then he smiled. "Best friends."

He returned the smile. "Even better." He paused. "Now, what do you say we finish watching that movie?"

Roxas agreed and got everything set up, Axel just sitting back and watching the entire time.

He didn't want to say anything yet, but he already knew; Demyx and Zexion had been right after all. The redhead had fallen for the blue-eyed boy.


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Winter Break

No more snow had fallen since that one huge blizzard. The school was able to reopen that Wednesday as well, rather than being closed for the entire week. The days were beginning to drag on, though, due to the wait and longing for winter break.

Then at long last, winter break had arrived. It was a relief for Axel, too. And lucky for him, not much had changed since his last incident with Roxas almost a month ago. When he thought things would become more awkward between them because of his confession, just the opposite had happened. Now the blonde seemed to be even more comfortable with the redhead. And since it was break, they would practically be living together while Riku and Sora went away for that first week. They had decided to come home the second Monday of the break instead of the second Saturday since they still wanted some free time with their friends as well.

"So I would tell you not to do anything stupid," Demyx began while Axel was waiting for Roxas that first Friday of break, "but I'm pretty sure it's a little too late for that," he finished with a chuckle.

"Thanks," he replied. Axel had ended up telling his two best friends about the incident during the blizzard, but he had yet to admit to them that they were right about him and Roxas. He just couldn't come to make himself fess up to them.

Zexion then entered the room. "Roxas is here," he announced.

With that said, Demyx left. The other two remained in Axel's room.

"Are you okay?" Zexion checked.

"I'm fine," he answered with a sigh.

"You don't seem fine." He paused. "Did something… _more_ happen between you and Roxas back during the blizzard? Something you may have conveniently left out of the story you told me and Dem?"

He shook his head, chuckling. "No. Besides that, it was just like when we normally hang out, except we were snowed in."

"Okay, if you say so."

"I do say so." He slung his bag over his shoulder. "Let's go."

The two left Axel's bedroom and headed downstairs. Roxas and Demyx were both standing in the living room.

"Hey," Roxas greeted the other two with a smile.

"Hey there," Axel replied, returning the smile.

"All right, if you two need anything, please just call one of us. Any of us," Zexion told them. "But preferably one of us."

"But most of all, remember to just have fun!" Demyx added with excitement that sounded almost sarcastic. He laughed at himself.

"Way to be pathetic," Axel said back.

Now Roxas laughed at the comment. "Okay, let's head out."

"See you guys around," Axel added.

The two left. The walk to Roxas's place was full of many laughs. And as they reached his place, Riku and Sora were just leaving.

"Oh, hey guys," Sora greeted them. "Axel, I just wanted to thank you for staying here with Roxas for the week. We really appreciate it."

"You don't have to thank me; it's not a problem."

"We'll be back next Monday," Riku then informed them both.

"All right."

"Have fun," Roxas spoke up. "Tell auntie and uncle I say hi."

"Will do," Sora promised.

"Bye guys," Riku said. He and Sora then left.

Axel and Roxas entered the now empty house.

"You can just throw your stuff down wherever for now," Roxas told him. "I mean, we'll most likely end up just crashing in the living room all week anyway."

Axel dropped his bag by the front door. They moved into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"So Roxy, what are we gonna do for a whole week? I mean, I feel like we already did everything back when we were snowed in."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But there are other things we can do. We have plenty of other movies to watch, we have games to play…we can do whatever, really."

"That's quite the variety." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

He laughed a little. "Sorry. Oh, so I was actually wondering about how school's going for you."

"Roxas, you're practically with me all day long."

"I know, but I feel like there are things I still miss."

"Well," he shrugged, "school is school. I'm passing, but probably only because of you."

"What about the teachers?"

"Vexen hates me. He despises me, even," he began bluntly. "Luxord I'm not so sure about because he's passed out most of the time. I'm pretty sure Xigbar likes me. Lexaeus I feel like is always glaring at me, but I'm sure he glares at everybody. And it's hard to tell with Xaldin, too, but he doesn't seem to have a problem with me. From the few meetings I've had with Xemnas, he also seems to like me. And then Marluxia seems to still love me. I don't know why or how, but—"

"Why does that surprise you?" Roxas cut him off.

"Because I'm just not a good student."

"Marly could never hate you, though. Before he was just…disappointed in you."

"People always are."

"What do you mean?"

"I always disappoint people."

"You haven't disappointed me."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm positive."

"Well, I most likely will at some point in time."

"Don't say that. Plus, I doubt you've ever disappointed Demyx or Zexion."

"You'd be surprised."

"Axel, are you ever going to tell me—?"

"I don't know, Roxas," he cut him off this time. "I want to. I really do. I just don't know how." He sighed. "I thought we had gone over this before."

"We did. But I just wanted to know since that was a good while back. I mean, I feel like I would understand you a lot better if you would just tell me what happened."

He chuckled at this. "Oh please, I don't even understand myself." He shook his head now, still laughing a bit. "I don't think I ever will figure myself out."

"That's not true."

"Listen Rox—"

"What about the song?" he cut him off again.

"What song?"

"Your love song," he clarified. "The explanation you gave with it. I mean, I could be that person. Platonically, at least. But I wouldn't judge you, Axel. I would still—"

"You remember that?"

"Of course I do. I mean, how could I forget? It's like you pretty much said it right to me."

"Roxas…" he trailed off with another sigh. "It's complicated. But when the time is right, you'll learn what happened."

"When will the time be right?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Let's watch another movie," he then suggested, changing the subject.

"Okay," Roxas went along with the change, though it was clear he didn't want to. "What movie?"

"C'mon Rox, you know me," he replied. "Any movie is fine."

"I'll surprise you, then."

"You already did," he said to himself under his breath. "Just like I've surprised myself."


	21. Chapter Twenty: Twenty Questions

Wednesday rolled around and winter break was just barely halfway over. In five days, Riku and Sora would be returning. And since the Friday Axel had started staying with Roxas, not much had happened. Kairi and Naminé stopped by a couple times, but that was it, really. That Wednesday night, though, Axel was lying on the couch, unable to sleep; he was thinking too much about the blonde below him. Then he decided to try something a bit…devious.

"Hey Rox, you still awake?" he quietly called down to the floor.

"Yeah," he replied. "What's up?"

"Let's play a game."

"What game?"

"Twenty questions, except you ask me ten and I'll ask you ten. We'll play a few rounds."

"Okay," he agreed, popping up into view. "Want me to ask the questions first?" He put his back against the couch.

"Sure." He also sat up. "And let's make our answers people."

"All right. Do you have someone in mind?"

"I do indeed."

"Okay. Let's see here…" he thought for a moment. "Well, to start off, is the person a guy?"

"Yes."

"Is he in your grade?"

"Yes."

"Are you friends with him?"

"Nope."

Roxas laughed. "Do you hate him?"

Axel smiled. "Very much."

"Does he have blue hair?"

His smile widened. "That he does."

"I wonder…could it be…Saïx?"

"Good guessing."

He laughed some more. "And that only took five questions. Six if you count the one where I asked if it was him or not."

He shrugged, still smiling. "What can I say?" He cleared his throat. "All right, now it's my turn to guess. Do you have someone in mind?

"I do."

"All right. Is this person a chick?"

"Yes."

"Does she go to our school?"

"She does."

"Is she in your grade?"

"She is."

"Is she a part of our group?"

"Obviously. What other girls do any of us hang out with?"

"Hey, I'm the one asking the questions here."

He laughed. "I'm just saying."

He also laughed. "I know, I'm kidding." He shook his head. "Okay. Does she have black hair?"

"No."

"Does she have maroon hair?"

"Nope."

He thought for a moment. "Is she blonde?"

He smiled. "There you go."

"Is it Naminé?"

"It is her, as a matter of fact." He laughed some more. "All right, next round. Think of someone."

"I already have."

"Okay. Is the person a guy again?"

"Yes."

"Is he in your grade?"

"He is not."

"Is he a year younger than you?"

"No."

This confused the blonde a bit. "Does he go to our school?"

"Kind of…in a way."

He thought long and hard about that last answer. "Oh, is he a teacher?" he then asked.

"Now you're on the right track."

"Does he have pink hair?"

He laughed again. "He does indeed."

"Is it Marluxia?"

"Wow, Roxy, you're good at this game. You barely need the five questions."

"Well, I figured that one out in seven so…" he trailed off, shrugging. "Either way, I already have my next person."

"All right. Is the person a guy this time?"

"Yes."

"Is he in my grade?"

"No."

"Is he in your grade?"

"Yes."

"Are you related to him?"

"In a way…"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Is that your next question?"

"No, I just—" he stopped, figuring out the answer in that moment. "Roxas, are you thinking of yourself?"

More laughter poured from his lips. "Good job! I thought I'd beat you with that one."

"Well, I asked the right question."

"That you did." He resituated himself on the floor. "How about one more round each?"

"Sure."

"Do you have a third person?"

"Yup."

"Okay. Is this person also a guy?"

"Nope."

"Does she attend our school?"

"Hey, I didn't say anything about the person being a chick either."

The blonde's eyes widened. "Wait, but—"

The redhead laughed. "I'm joking, relax."

"Don't do that! I was about to get extremely confused."

"I'm sorry. Go on."

"Answer the question first."

"Oh, no, she doesn't go to our school."

Roxas thought about this before smirking. "Do you hate her as well?"

Axel smiled in return. "Very much."

"Is it Larxene?"

"Of course it is."

"That was the fastest round and I barely know anything about her."

"All the info you needed was in the answer to the second question, though," he pointed out.

"Good point." He nodded. "Well, now it's time for my last person."

"Right. And I hear you actually like someone, so that's who I wanna try to figure out."

That was a lie.

"Is that so?" he responded. "What makes you think that?"

He shrugged. "Guess I just know you."

"That well?"

"Are you saying I'm wrong?"

He paused at this. "I thought that I was supposed to decide the person," he spoke back up.

Now he grinned. "Too bad."

The blonde couldn't help but to laugh. "Fine."

"All right, first question: Does he go to our school?"

"Of course."

"Is he in your grade?"

"No, he's in your grade."

"Do I know him?"

"Yes."

"Do I get along with him?"

"I think so."

That threw Axel off. "Is he a good friend of yours?"

"As far as I'm concerned, yes, he is."

"What personality trait do you like about him?"

Roxas shifted a little. "I'm not sure if this is a personality trait, but he knows how to make me," he swallowed hard, "blush."

That got the redhead back on track. "What feature do you like about him?"

"They're not natural features, but I like his…tattoos. And his piercing."

"Okay. And what don't you like about him?"

"His addiction."

"Is he gay?"

"I don't know, but he's not so sure either."

He nodded. "Last question: Do you wish you could be with him right now?"

It was at this moment that Roxas took a deep breath and let it out as he moved to sit on the couch with Axel. "I am with him."

The redhead's breath caught in his throat. "I thought so."

He chose not to waste any more time.

He kissed the blonde.

Roxas broke away. "Axel! You—you're—!"

"I told you I might be wrong," he reminded him. "That I needed time to figure it all out."

"But…that was a month ago!"

"Oh, I didn't realise that would be too much time."

"No, that—that's not what I meant."

"Roxas." He sighed. "Just…shut up and kiss me." He swallowed hard. "We both want this, after all."

"Wh-what?"

"I want to be with you, Roxas," Axel finally admitted. "I've known this since we were snowed in together, but I was just waiting for the right moment to tell you. And I know it was brought up then, but that didn't make it the right time. As it turns out, though, I was wrong before. So please stop pushing me away. I promise, I'm fully aware of what I'm doing now."

A smile twitched across Roxas's face, replacing his look of confusion and shock. "What? Were you waiting for my permission or something?"

"I was waiting until I knew that it would be okay for me to make a move like this."

"How'd you know it'd be okay now?"

"Because you're comfortable enough with me now and you practically just told me that you like me."

"Good point." He paused. "So you really do want this?"

"Yes, Roxas. I-I want to be with you."

His smile widened. "You know, I didn't think this would ever happen. I mean, I know you were starting to question everything, but I just…" he trailed off with a sigh. "This wasn't the conclusion I expected you to come to."

He finally returned the smile. "Yeah, how do you think I feel?"

Roxas chuckled as he rested his forehead against Axel's and closed his eyes. He then took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"What is it?" Axel spoke up.

"Just taking it in," Roxas answered. He pulled away slightly so that his ocean blue eyes could focus on those forest green eyes. "You and me."

Axel then kissed Roxas again.

And this time, the blonde kissed the redhead back.


End file.
